48 results on '"Conca F"'
Search Results
2. Patología tumoral esofágica: claves diagnósticas mediante neumo-tomografía computarizada (Neumo-TC)
- Author
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Conca, F., Rosso, N., López Grove, R., Savluk, L., Santino, J.P., and Ulla, M.
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
3. The multidimensionality of abstract concepts: A systematic review
- Author
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Conca, F., Borsa, V.M., Cappa, S.F., and Catricalà, E.
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
4. Effective connectivity within the neural system for object-directed action representation during aware and unaware tool processing
- Author
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Ghio, M, Conca, F, Bellebaum, C, Perani, D, Tettamanti, M, Ghio M., Conca F., Bellebaum C., Perani D., Tettamanti M., Ghio, M, Conca, F, Bellebaum, C, Perani, D, Tettamanti, M, Ghio M., Conca F., Bellebaum C., Perani D., and Tettamanti M.
- Abstract
Previous brain functional specialization evidence has shown that both aware and unaware visual processing of manipulable objects activate left premotor, parietal, and posterior temporal cortices, which are thought to constitute object-directed action and object-function processing streams. An open question is whether, both under supraliminal and subliminal processing conditions, there is directional spread of activation along these functional streams, leading to causal inter-regional connectivity effects. In this study, we used Dynamic Causal Modelling to estimate the effective connectivity influences within the premotor-parieto-temporal network, as a function of factorial contrasts for Manipulability (manipulable vs non-manipulable objects) and Perceptual Awareness (above vs below perceptual threshold). We modeled forward and backward connections originating from visual area V4, as a region underlying object texture segregation, and spreading through the left premotor-parieto-temporal network. Both above and below perceptual threshold, the visual processing of manipulable objects was associated with a specific increase of reciprocal effective connectivity coupling among left premotor-parieto-temporal regions. Aware and unaware manipulable object processing differed from each other for their distinct patterns of top-down activation enhancement exerted, in the former case, by left premotor-parieto-temporal regions on area V4 and, in the latter case, by left premotor on temporal regions. Although it is only under aware processing conditions that effective connectivity in the action representation system may promote object visual contour segregation in area V4, our results suggest that the encoding of object-action and object-function information can occur through left-hemispheric premotor, parietal, and temporal causal interdependencies, even when the object is not consciously perceived.
- Published
- 2022
5. Store-Operated Ca2+ Entry Is Up-Regulated in Tumour-Infiltrating Lymphocytes from Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients
- Author
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Faris, P, Rumolo, A, Tapella, L, Tanzi, M, Metallo, A, Conca, F, Negri, S, Lefkimmiatis, K, Pedrazzoli, P, Lim, D, Montagna, D, Moccia, F, Faris P., Rumolo A., Tapella L., Tanzi M., Metallo A., Conca F., Negri S., Lefkimmiatis K., Pedrazzoli P., Lim D., Montagna D., Moccia F., Faris, P, Rumolo, A, Tapella, L, Tanzi, M, Metallo, A, Conca, F, Negri, S, Lefkimmiatis, K, Pedrazzoli, P, Lim, D, Montagna, D, Moccia, F, Faris P., Rumolo A., Tapella L., Tanzi M., Metallo A., Conca F., Negri S., Lefkimmiatis K., Pedrazzoli P., Lim D., Montagna D., and Moccia F.
- Abstract
Simple Summary Store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) has long been known to regulate the differentiation and effector functions of T cells as well as to be instrumental to the ability of cytotoxic T lymphocytes to target cancer cells. Currently, no information is available regarding the expression and function of SOCE in tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) that have been expanded in vitro for adoptive cell therapy (ACT). This study provides the first evidence that SOCE is up-regulated in ex vivo-expanded TILs from metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients. The up-regulation of SOCE mainly depends on diacylglycerol kinase (DGK), which prevents the protein kinase C-dependent inhibition of Ca2+ entry in normal T cells. Of note, the pharmacological blockade of SOCE with the selective inhibitor, BTP-2, during target cell killing significantly increases cytotoxic activity at low TIL density, i.e., when TILs-mediated cancer cell death is rarer. This study, albeit preliminary, could lay the foundation to propose an alternative strategy to effect ACT. It has been shown that ex vivo-expanded TILs did not improve the disease-free survival rate in mCRC patients. Our results strongly suggest that pre-treating autologous TILs with a SOCE or DGK inhibitor before being infused into the patient could improve their cytotoxic activity against cancer cells. (1) Background: Store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) drives the cytotoxic activity of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) against cancer cells. However, SOCE can be enhanced in cancer cells due to an increase in the expression and/or function of its underlying molecular components, i.e., STIM1 and Orai1. Herein, we evaluated the SOCE expression and function in tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) from metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients. (2) Methods: Functional studies were conducted in TILs expanded ex vivo from CRC liver metastases. Peripheral blood T cells from healthy donors (hPBTs) and mCRC patients (cPBTs) were used as cont
- Published
- 2022
6. Neural correlates of naming errors across different neurodegenerative diseases: An FDG-PET study
- Author
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Catricala, E, Polito, C, Presotto, L, Esposito, V, Sala, A, Conca, F, Gasparri, C, Berti, V, Filippi, M, Pupi, A, Sorbi, S, Iannaccone, S, Magnani, G, Cappa, S, Perani, D, Catricala E., Polito C., Presotto L., Esposito V., Sala A., Conca F., Gasparri C., Berti V., Filippi M., Pupi A., Sorbi S., Iannaccone S., Magnani G., Cappa S. F., Perani D., Catricala, E, Polito, C, Presotto, L, Esposito, V, Sala, A, Conca, F, Gasparri, C, Berti, V, Filippi, M, Pupi, A, Sorbi, S, Iannaccone, S, Magnani, G, Cappa, S, Perani, D, Catricala E., Polito C., Presotto L., Esposito V., Sala A., Conca F., Gasparri C., Berti V., Filippi M., Pupi A., Sorbi S., Iannaccone S., Magnani G., Cappa S. F., and Perani D.
- Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the types of errors produced in a picture naming task by patients with neurodegenerative dementia due to different etiologies and their neural correlates. METHODS: The same standardized picture naming test was administered to a consecutive sample of patients (n = 148) who had been studied with [18F] FDG-PET. The errors were analyzed in 3 categories (visual, semantic, and phonologic). The PET data were analyzed using an optimized single-subject procedure, and the statistical parametric mapping multiple regression design was used to explore the correlation between each type of error and brain hypometabolism in the whole group. Metabolic connectivity analyses were run at the group level on 7 left hemisphere cortical areas corresponding to an a priori defined naming network. RESULTS: Semantic errors were predominant in most patients, independent of clinical diagnosis. In the whole group analysis, visual errors correlated with hypometabolism in the right inferior occipital lobe and in the left middle occipital lobe. Semantic errors correlated with hypometabolism in the left fusiform gyrus, the inferior and middle temporal gyri, and the temporal pole. Phonologic errors were associated with hypometabolism in the left superior and middle temporal gyri. Both positive (occipital-posterior fusiform) and negative (anterior fusiform gyrus and the superior anterior temporal lobe) connectivity changes were associated with semantic errors. CONCLUSIONS: Naming errors reflect the dysfunction of separate stages of the naming process and are specific markers for different patterns of brain involvement. These correlations are not limited to primary progressive aphasia but extend to other neurodegenerative dementias.
- Published
- 2020
7. The Italian Sensorimotor Norms: Perception and action strength measures for 959 words
- Author
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Repetto, Claudia, Rodella, Claudia, Conca, F., Santi, G. C., Catricala, E., Repetto C. (ORCID:0000-0001-8365-7697), Rodella C. (ORCID:0000-0002-9294-8856), Repetto, Claudia, Rodella, Claudia, Conca, F., Santi, G. C., Catricala, E., Repetto C. (ORCID:0000-0001-8365-7697), and Rodella C. (ORCID:0000-0002-9294-8856)
- Abstract
Neuroscience research has provided evidence that semantic information is stored in a distributed brain network involved in sensorimotor and linguistic processing. More specifically, according to the embodied cognition accounts, the representation of concepts is deemed as grounded in our bodily states. For these reasons, normative measures of words should provide relevant information about the extent to which each word embeds perceptual and action properties. In the present study, we collected ratings for 959 Italian nouns and verbs from 398 volunteers, recruited via an online platform. The words were mostly taken from the Italian adaptation of the Affective Norms for English Words (ANEW). A pool of 145 verbs was added to the original set. All the words were rated on 11 sensorimotor dimensions: six perceptual modalities (vision, audition, taste, smell, touch, and interoception) and five effectors (hand-arm, foot-leg, torso, mouth, head). The new verbs were also rated on the ANEW dimensions. Results showed good reliability and consistency with previous studies. Relations between perceptual and motor dimensions are described and interpreted, along with relations between the sensorimotor and the affective dimensions. The currently developed dataset represents an important novelty, as it includes different word classes, i.e., both nouns and verbs, and integrates ratings of both sensorimotor and affective dimensions, along with other psycholinguistic parameters; all features only partially accomplished in previous studies.
- Published
- 2022
8. Il ruolo della valenza emotiva di parole astratte e concrete nel contrastare gli effetti dell’invecchiamento sulle abilità di controllo
- Author
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Borsa, Virginia Maria, Conca, F., Catricalà, E., Cappa, S. F., and Rusconi, Maria Luisa
- Subjects
Settore M-PSI/02 - Psicobiologia e Psicologia Fisiologica ,valenza emotiva ,Flanker test ,parole astratte e concrete ,controllo attentivo - Published
- 2021
9. Different types of abstract concepts: evidence from two neurodegenerative patients
- Author
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Catricala, E., Conca, F., Borsa, V. M., Cotelli, Maria, Manenti, Rosa, Gobbi, E., Binetti, G., Cotta Ramusino, M., Perini, G., Costa, A., Rusconi, M. L., Cappa, S. F., Cotelli M., Manenti R., Catricala, E., Conca, F., Borsa, V. M., Cotelli, Maria, Manenti, Rosa, Gobbi, E., Binetti, G., Cotta Ramusino, M., Perini, G., Costa, A., Rusconi, M. L., Cappa, S. F., Cotelli M., and Manenti R.
- Abstract
The observation of neurological patients showing selective impairments for specific conceptual categories contributed in the development of semantic memory theories. Here, we studied two patients (P01, P02), affected, respectively, by the semantic variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia (sv-PPA) and Cortico-Basal Syndrome (CBS). An implicit lexical decision task, including concrete (animals, tools) and abstract (emotions, social, quantity) concepts, was administered to patients and healthy controls.P01 and P02 showed an abolished priming effect for social and quantity-related concepts, respectively. This double dissociation suggests a role of different brain areas in representing specific abstract categories, giving insights for current semantic memory theories.
- Published
- 2021
10. Conceptual semantics as grounded in personal experience
- Author
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Conca, F, Tettamanti, M, Conca F., Tettamanti M., Conca, F, Tettamanti, M, Conca F., and Tettamanti M.
- Abstract
Semantic memory for an object encompasses multi-modal knowledge gained through personal experience over the lifetime, and coded in grounded sensory-motor brain systems, independently of the level of subjective awareness. Linguistic access to semantic memories in verbal format relies on the functional coupling between perisylvian language regions and the grounded brain systems implied by our lifetime experience with the concept's referents. Linguistic structure exerts modulatory influences on this functional coupling, as in the case of sentential negation, which reduces the interactions between perisylvian language regions and the grounded brain systems.
- Published
- 2018
11. Unaware processing of tools in the neural system for object-directed action representation
- Author
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Tettamanti, M, Conca, F, Falini, A, Perani, D, Tettamanti M., Conca F., Falini A., Perani D., Tettamanti, M, Conca, F, Falini, A, Perani, D, Tettamanti M., Conca F., Falini A., and Perani D.
- Abstract
The hypothesis that the brain constitutively encodes observed manipulable objects for the actions they afford is still debated. Yet, crucial evidence demonstrating that, even in the absence of perceptual awareness, the mere visual appearance of a manipulable object triggers a visuomotor coding in the action representation system including the premotor cortex, has hitherto not been provided. In this fMRI study, we instantiated reliable unaware visual perception conditions by means of continuous flash suppression, and we tested in 24 healthy human participants (13 females) whether the visuomotor object-directed action representation system that includes left-hemispheric premotor, parietal, and posterior temporal cortices is activated even under subliminal perceptual conditions. We found consistent activation in the target visuomotor cortices, both with and without perceptual awareness, specifically for pictures of manipulable versus non-manipulable objects. By means of a multivariate searchlight analysis, we also found that the brain activation patterns in this visuomotor network enabled the decoding of manipulable versus non-manipulable object picture processing, both with and without awareness. These findings demonstrate the intimate neural coupling between visual perception and motor representation that underlies manipulable object processing: manipulable object stimuli specifically engage the visuomotor object-directed action representation system, in a constitutive manner that is independent from perceptual awareness. This perceptuo-motor coupling endows the brain with an efficient mechanism for monitoring and planning reactions to external stimuli in the absence of awareness.
- Published
- 2017
12. Effective connectivity within the neural system for object-directed action representation during aware and unaware tool processing
- Author
-
Marta Ghio, Francesca Conca, Christian Bellebaum, Daniela Perani, Marco Tettamanti, Ghio, M, Conca, F, Bellebaum, C, Perani, D, and Tettamanti, M
- Subjects
Brain Mapping ,Consciousne ,Cognitive Neuroscience ,Experimental and Cognitive Psychology ,Magnetic Resonance Imaging ,Temporal Lobe ,Action representation ,Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology ,Visual Perception ,Humans ,Tool ,Functional integration ,Continuous flash suppression ,Visual Cortex - Abstract
Previous brain functional specialization evidence has shown that both aware and unaware visual processing of manipulable objects activate left premotor, parietal, and posterior temporal cortices, which are thought to constitute object-directed action and object-function processing streams. An open question is whether, both under supraliminal and subliminal processing conditions, there is directional spread of activation along these functional streams, leading to causal inter-regional connectivity effects. In this study, we used Dynamic Causal Modelling to estimate the effective connectivity influences within the premotor-parieto-temporal network, as a function of factorial contrasts for Manipulability (manipulable vs non-manipulable objects) and Perceptual Awareness (above vs below perceptual threshold). We modeled forward and backward connections originating from visual area V4, as a region underlying object texture segregation, and spreading through the left premotor-parieto-temporal network. Both above and below perceptual threshold, the visual processing of manipulable objects was associated with a specific increase of reciprocal effective connectivity coupling among left premotor-parieto-temporal regions. Aware and unaware manipulable object processing differed from each other for their distinct patterns of top-down activation enhancement exerted, in the former case, by left premotor-parieto-temporal regions on area V4 and, in the latter case, by left premotor on temporal regions. Although it is only under aware processing conditions that effective connectivity in the action representation system may promote object visual contour segregation in area V4, our results suggest that the encoding of object-action and object-function information can occur through left-hemispheric premotor, parietal, and temporal causal interdependencies, even when the object is not consciously perceived.
- Published
- 2022
13. Grammatica latina e innovazione nella linguistica missionaria: il contributo di Ludovico Bertonio (1557-1625)
- Author
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Bartolotta Annamaria, Biondi, L, Dedè, F, Scala, A, Alfieri, L, Banfi, E, Benedetti, M, Bernini, G, Berra, C, Martinelli Tempesta, S, Blanc, A, Bombi, R, Bonfadini, G, Bonomi, I, Borghi, G, Campanile, D, Capra, A, Cardella, M, Castagneto, M, Chiesa, P, Chiusaroli, F, Conca, F, Consani, C, Cotticelli-Kurras, P, Crevatin, F, Cuzzolin, P, D'Agostino, A, Dardano, P, De Angelis, A, Dell'Oro, F, Di Giovine, P, Dovetto, F, Fanciullo, F, Finazzi, R, Tornaghi, P, Formigari, L, García Ramón, J.L, Gensini, S, Giacalone Ramat, A, Gobber, G, Graffi, G, Gualandri, I, Iannaccaro, G, Iodice, M, La Fauci, N, Lorenzetti, L., and Bartolotta Annamaria
- Subjects
linguistica missionaria, grammatica, aymara, metalinguaggio ,Settore L-LIN/01 - Glottologia E Linguistica - Abstract
L’analisi delle prime grammatiche delle lingue native, scritte dai missionari allo scopo di standardizzare le innumerevoli varietà linguistiche con cui gli europei vennero a contatto durante il periodo della colonizzazione spagnola e portoghese in sud America, consente di gettare una nuova luce sull’evoluzione del pensiero linguistico all’inizio dell’era moderna. Questo lavoro si concentra in particolare sulla prima grammatica dell’aymara, l’Arte y Grammatica muy copiosa de la lengua aymara, scritta in lingua castigliana alla fine del Cinquecento (1596) dal missionario gesuita italiano Ludovico Bertonio e pubblicata a Roma nel 1603.
- Published
- 2022
14. Neural correlates of naming errors across different neurodegenerative diseases: An FDG-PET study
- Author
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Alberto Pupi, Luca Presotto, Sandro Iannaccone, Stefano F. Cappa, Valentina Berti, Valentina Esposito, Cristina Polito, Massimo Filippi, Eleonora Catricalà, Sandro Sorbi, Celeste Gasparri, Giuseppe Magnani, Arianna Sala, Daniela Perani, Francesca Conca, Catricalà, Eleonora, Polito, Cristina, Presotto, Luca, Esposito, Valentina, Sala, Arianna, Conca, Francesca, Gasparri, Celeste, Berti, Valentina, Filippi, Massimo, Pupi, Alberto, Sorbi, Sandro, Iannaccone, Sandro, Magnani, Giuseppe, Cappa, Stefano F., Perani, Daniela, Catricala, E, Polito, C, Presotto, L, Esposito, V, Sala, A, Conca, F, Gasparri, C, Berti, V, Filippi, M, Pupi, A, Sorbi, S, Iannaccone, S, Magnani, G, Cappa, S, and Perani, D
- Subjects
Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Audiology ,Statistical parametric mapping ,050105 experimental psychology ,Lateralization of brain function ,Temporal lobe ,neuroscience ,Primary progressive aphasia ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Alzheimer Disease ,Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 ,Aphasia ,medicine ,Connectome ,Humans ,Speech ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Aged ,Language ,Retrospective Studies ,Aged, 80 and over ,Neural correlates of consciousness ,Fusiform gyrus ,business.industry ,05 social sciences ,Neurodegenerative Diseases ,medicine.disease ,Temporal Lobe ,image processing ,Semantics ,PET ,Aphasia, Primary Progressive ,Pattern Recognition, Visual ,Frontotemporal Dementia ,Positron-Emission Tomography ,Dementia ,Female ,Neurology (clinical) ,Occipital Lobe ,Supranuclear Palsy, Progressive ,medicine.symptom ,Occipital lobe ,business ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
ObjectiveTo investigate the types of errors produced in a picture naming task by patients with neurodegenerative dementia due to different etiologies and their neural correlates.MethodsThe same standardized picture naming test was administered to a consecutive sample of patients (n = 148) who had been studied with [18F] FDG-PET. The errors were analyzed in 3 categories (visual, semantic, and phonologic). The PET data were analyzed using an optimized single-subject procedure, and the statistical parametric mapping multiple regression design was used to explore the correlation between each type of error and brain hypometabolism in the whole group. Metabolic connectivity analyses were run at the group level on 7 left hemisphere cortical areas corresponding to an a priori defined naming network.ResultsSemantic errors were predominant in most patients, independent of clinical diagnosis. In the whole group analysis, visual errors correlated with hypometabolism in the right inferior occipital lobe and in the left middle occipital lobe. Semantic errors correlated with hypometabolism in the left fusiform gyrus, the inferior and middle temporal gyri, and the temporal pole. Phonologic errors were associated with hypometabolism in the left superior and middle temporal gyri. Both positive (occipital–posterior fusiform) and negative (anterior fusiform gyrus and the superior anterior temporal lobe) connectivity changes were associated with semantic errors.ConclusionsNaming errors reflect the dysfunction of separate stages of the naming process and are specific markers for different patterns of brain involvement. These correlations are not limited to primary progressive aphasia but extend to other neurodegenerative dementias.
- Published
- 2020
15. Conceptual semantics as grounded in personal experience
- Author
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Conca, Francesca, Tettamanti, Marco, Conca, F, and Tettamanti, M
- Subjects
Ethics ,language ,grounded cognition ,05 social sciences ,Aesthetics ,personal experience ,BJ1-1725 ,050105 experimental psychology ,03 medical and health sciences ,Semantic memory ,action-related brain system ,0302 clinical medicine ,emantic memory ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Action-related brain system ,BH1-301 ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
Semantic memory for an object encompasses multi-modal knowledge gained through personal experience over the lifetime, and coded in grounded sensory-motor brain systems, independently of the level of subjective awareness. Linguistic access to semantic memories in verbal format relies on the functional coupling between perisylvian language regions and the grounded brain systems implied by our lifetime experience with the concept’s referents. Linguistic structure exerts modulatory influences on this functional coupling, as in the case of sentential negation, which reduces the interactions between perisylvian language regions and the grounded brain systems., Phenomenology and Mind, No 14 (2018): Perception and Aesthetic Experience
- Published
- 2018
16. Unaware Processing of Tools in the Neural System for Object-Directed Action Representation
- Author
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Daniela Perani, Andrea Falini, Marco Tettamanti, Francesca Conca, Tettamanti, M, Conca, F, Falini, A, Perani, D, Tettamanti, Marco, Conca, Francesca, Falini, Andrea, and Perani, Daniela
- Subjects
Male ,Visual perception ,genetic structures ,Computer science ,Functional magnetic resonance imaging ,Motion Perception ,Random Allocation ,0302 clinical medicine ,continuous flash suppression ,Neural system ,awareness ,Research Articles ,media_common ,Visual Cortex ,Cognitive science ,Brain Mapping ,General Neuroscience ,05 social sciences ,Representation (systemics) ,Motor Cortex ,object manipula-tion ,Object (philosophy) ,Magnetic Resonance Imaging ,Action representation ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,functional magnetic resonance imaging ,tools ,Visual Perception ,Tool ,Female ,Psychology ,Object manipulation ,psychological phenomena and processes ,Human ,media_common.quotation_subject ,behavioral disciplines and activities ,050105 experimental psychology ,Premotor cortex ,03 medical and health sciences ,Young Adult ,Perception ,medicine ,Continuous flash suppression ,Humans ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Motion perception ,Communication ,Neuroscience (all) ,business.industry ,Subliminal stimuli ,Awarene ,Visual cortex ,Action (philosophy) ,business ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,Photic Stimulation ,Psychomotor Performance - Abstract
The hypothesis that the brain constitutively encodes observed manipulable objects for the actions they afford is still debated. Yet, crucial evidence demonstrating that, even in the absence of perceptual awareness, the mere visual appearance of a manipulable object triggers a visuomotor coding in the action representation system including the premotor cortex, has hitherto not been provided. In this fMRI study, we instantiated reliable unaware visual perception conditions by means of continuous flash suppression, and we tested in 24 healthy human participants (13 females) whether the visuomotor object-directed action representation system that includes left-hemispheric premotor, parietal, and posterior temporal cortices is activated even under subliminal perceptual conditions. We found consistent activation in the target visuomotor cortices, both with and without perceptual awareness, specifically for pictures of manipulable versus non-manipulable objects. By means of a multivariate searchlight analysis, we also found that the brain activation patterns in this visuomotor network enabled the decoding of manipulable versus non-manipulable object picture processing, both with and without awareness. These findings demonstrate the intimate neural coupling between visual perception and motor representation that underlies manipulable object processing: manipulable object stimuli specifically engage the visuomotor object-directed action representation system, in a constitutive manner that is independent from perceptual awareness. This perceptuo-motor coupling endows the brain with an efficient mechanism for monitoring and planning reactions to external stimuli in the absence of awareness.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTOur brain constantly encodes the visual information that hits the retina, leading to a stimulus-specific activation of sensory and semantic representations, even for objects that we do not consciously perceive. Do these unconscious representations encompass the motor programming of actions that could be accomplished congruently with the objects' functions? In this fMRI study, we instantiated unaware visual perception conditions, by dynamically suppressing the visibility of manipulable object pictures with mondrian masks. Despite escaping conscious perception, manipulable objects activated an object-directed action representation system that includes left-hemispheric premotor, parietal, and posterior temporal cortices. This demonstrates that visuomotor encoding occurs independently of conscious object perception.
- Published
- 2017
17. Sui Carmina Historica di Cristoforo di Mitilene
- Author
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CRISCUOLO, UGO MARIO, CONCA F., FIACCADORI G., and Criscuolo, UGO MARIO
- Published
- 2007
18. Il carro di Venere: tradizione e innovazione in Draconzio, Rom. 6.72-79
- Author
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LUCERI, ANGELO, Gualandri I, Conca F, Passarella R, and Luceri, Angelo
- Subjects
Draconzio, poesia epitalamica latina - Published
- 2005
19. La tripartizione del sapere in Ambrogio
- Author
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CUTINO, Michele, GUALANDRI I., CONCA F., and CUTINO M
- Published
- 2005
20. TACO: A Turkish database for abstract concepts.
- Author
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Conca F, Gibbons DM, Bayram B, Incesoy EI, Tacchini M, Düzel E, Cappa SF, and Catricalà E
- Subjects
- Humans, Turkey, Male, Female, Adult, Young Adult, Emotions physiology, Principal Component Analysis, Psycholinguistics methods, Adolescent, Semantics, Databases, Factual, Concept Formation physiology
- Abstract
The organization of abstract concepts reflects different dimensions, grounded in the brain regions coding for the corresponding experience. Normative measures of linguistic stimuli offer noteworthy insights into the organization of conceptual knowledge, but studies differ in the dimensions and classes of concepts considered. Additionally, most of the available information has been collected in English, without considering possible linguistic and cultural differences. Here, we aimed to create a comprehensive Turkish database for abstract concepts (TACO), including rarely investigated classes such as political concepts. We included 503 words-78 concrete (fruits, animals, tools) and 425 abstract (emotions, social, mental states, theoretical, quantity, space, political)-rated by 134 Turkish speakers for familiarity, imageability, age of acquisition, valence, arousal, quantity, space, theoretical, social, mental state, and political dimensions. We calculated dominance and exclusivity, indicating the dimension receiving the highest mean score for each word, and the position of the word along the unidimensional-multidimensional continuum, respectively. A principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted on the semantic dimensions. The results showed that mental state was the dominant dimension for most concepts. Moderate to low levels of exclusivity indicated that the concepts were multidimensional. PCA revealed three components: Component 1 captured the juxtaposition between social/mental state and magnitude polarities, Component 2 highlighted affective components, and Component 3 grouped together political and theoretical dimensions. The introduction of political concepts provided insights into the multidimensional nature of this unexplored class, closely intertwined with the theoretical dimension. TACO constitutes the first comprehensive Turkish database covering several abstract dimensions, paving the way for cross-linguistic and cross-cultural studies of semantic representations., (© 2024. The Psychonomic Society, Inc.)
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
21. Lysosomal TRPML1 triggers global Ca 2+ signals and nitric oxide release in human cerebrovascular endothelial cells.
- Author
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Brunetti V, Berra-Romani R, Conca F, Soda T, Biella GR, Gerbino A, Moccia F, and Scarpellino G
- Abstract
Lysosomal Ca
2+ signaling is emerging as a crucial regulator of endothelial Ca2+ dynamics. Ca2+ release from the acidic vesicles in response to extracellular stimulation is usually promoted via Two Pore Channels (TPCs) and is amplified by endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-embedded inositol-1,3,4-trisphosphate (InsP3 ) receptors and ryanodine receptors. Emerging evidence suggests that sub-cellular Ca2+ signals in vascular endothelial cells can also be generated by the Transient Receptor Potential Mucolipin 1 channel (TRPML1) channel, which controls vesicle trafficking, autophagy and gene expression. Herein, we adopted a multidisciplinary approach, including live cell imaging, pharmacological manipulation, and gene targeting, revealing that TRPML1 protein is expressed and triggers global Ca2+ signals in the human brain microvascular endothelial cell line, hCMEC/D3. The direct stimulation of TRPML1 with both the synthetic agonist, ML-SA1, and the endogenous ligand phosphatidylinositol 3,5-bisphosphate (PI(3,5)P2 ) induced a significant increase in [Ca2+ ]i, that was reduced by pharmacological blockade and genetic silencing of TRPML1. In addition, TRPML1-mediated lysosomal Ca2+ release was sustained both by lysosomal Ca2+ release and ER Ca2+ - release through inositol-1,4,5-trisphophate receptors and store-operated Ca2+ entry. Notably, interfering with TRPML1-mediated lysosomal Ca2+ mobilization led to a decrease in the free ER Ca2+ concentration. Imaging of DAF-FM fluorescence revealed that TRPML1 stimulation could also induce a significant Ca2+ -dependent increase in nitric oxide concentration. Finally, the pharmacological and genetic blockade of TRPML1 impaired ATP-induced intracellular Ca2+ release and NO production. These findings, therefore, shed novel light on the mechanisms whereby the lysosomal Ca2+ store can shape endothelial Ca2+ signaling and Ca2+ -dependent functions in vascular endothelial cells., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision, (Copyright © 2024 Brunetti, Berra-Romani, Conca, Soda, Biella, Gerbino, Moccia and Scarpellino.)- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
22. TRPV1 mediates redox-sensitive intracellular Ca 2+ release and store-operated Ca 2+ entry activation in circulating endothelial colony forming cells.
- Author
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Negri S, Conca F, Brunetti V, Scarpellino G, Lefkimmiatis K, and Moccia F
- Subjects
- Animals, Endothelial Progenitor Cells metabolism, Humans, Cells, Cultured, Endothelial Cells metabolism, TRPV Cation Channels metabolism, Oxidation-Reduction, Calcium metabolism, Calcium Signaling
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- 2024
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23. Clinical validity of the Italian adaptation of the Uniform Data Set Neuropsychological Test Battery (I-UDSNB) in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease.
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Conca F, Esposito V, Catricalà E, Manenti R, L'Abbate F, Quaranta D, Giuffrè GM, Rossetto F, Solca F, Orso B, Inguscio E, Crepaldi V, De Matteis M, Rotondo E, Manera M, Caruso G, Catania V, Canu E, Rundo F, Cotta Ramusino M, Filippi M, Fundarò C, Piras F, Arighi A, Tiraboschi P, Stanzani Maserati M, Pardini M, Poletti B, Silani V, Marra C, Di Tella S, Cotelli M, Lodi R, Tagliavini F, and Cappa SF
- Subjects
- Humans, Female, Male, Aged, Italy, Middle Aged, Reproducibility of Results, Aged, 80 and over, Alzheimer Disease diagnosis, Alzheimer Disease psychology, Cognitive Dysfunction diagnosis, Cognitive Dysfunction psychology, Neuropsychological Tests standards
- Abstract
Background: The identification and staging of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) represent a challenge, especially in the prodromal stage of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), when cognitive changes can be subtle. Worldwide efforts were dedicated to select and harmonize available neuropsychological instruments. In Italy, the Italian Network of Neuroscience and Neuro-Rehabilitation has promoted the adaptation of the Uniform Data Set Neuropsychological Test Battery (I-UDSNB), collecting normative data from 433 healthy controls (HC). Here, we aimed to explore the ability of I-UDSNB to differentiate between a) MCI and HC, b) AD and HC, c) MCI and AD., Methods: One hundred thirty-seven patients (65 MCI, 72 AD) diagnosed after clinical-neuropsychological assessment, and 137 HC were included. We compared the I-UDSNB scores between a) MCI and HC, b) AD and HC, c) MCI and AD, with t-tests. To identify the test(s) most capable of differentiating between groups, significant scores were entered in binary logistic and in stepwise regressions, and then in Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analyses., Results: Two episodic memory tests (Craft Story and Five Words test) differentiated MCI from HC subjects; Five Words test, Semantic Fluency (vegetables), and TMT-part B differentiated AD from, respectively, HC and MCI., Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the I-UDSNB is a suitable tool for the harmonized and concise assessment of patients with cognitive decline, showing high sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of MCI and AD., (© 2024. The Author(s).)
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- 2024
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24. Heterogeneity and overlap in the continuum of linguistic profile of logopenic and semantic variants of primary progressive aphasia: a Profile Analysis based on Multidimensional Scaling study.
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Santi GC, Conca F, Esposito V, Polito C, Caminiti SP, Boccalini C, Morinelli C, Berti V, Mazzeo S, Bessi V, Marcone A, Iannaccone S, Kim SK, Sorbi S, Perani D, Cappa SF, and Catricalà E
- Subjects
- Humans, Multidimensional Scaling Analysis, Linguistics, Fluorodeoxyglucose F18, Memory Disorders, Semantics, Aphasia, Primary Progressive diagnostic imaging
- Abstract
Background: Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) diagnostic criteria underestimate the complex presentation of semantic (sv) and logopenic (lv) variants, in which symptoms partially overlap, and mixed clinical presentation (mixed-PPA) and heterogenous profile (lvPPA +) are frequent. Conceptualization of similarities and differences of these clinical conditions is still scarce., Methods: Lexical, semantic, phonological, and working memory errors from nine language tasks of sixty-seven PPA were analyzed using Profile Analysis based on Multidimensional Scaling, which allowed us to create a distributed representation of patients' linguistic performance in a shared space. Patients had been studied with [
18 F] FDG-PET. Correlations were performed between metabolic and behavioral data., Results: Patients' profiles were distributed across a continuum. All PPA, but two, presented a lexical retrieval impairment, in terms of reduced production of verbs and nouns. svPPA patients occupied a fairly clumped space along the continuum, showing a preponderant semantic deficit, which correlated to fusiform gyrus hypometabolism, while only few presented working memory deficits. Adjacently, lvPPA + presented a semantic impairment combined with phonological deficits, which correlated with metabolism in the anterior fusiform gyrus and posterior middle temporal gyrus. Starting from the shared phonological deficit side, a large portion of the space was occupied by all lvPPA, showing a combination of phonological, lexical, and working memory deficits, with the latter correlating with posterior temporo-parietal hypometabolism. Mixed PPA did not show unique profile, distributing across the space., Discussion: Different clinical PPA entities exist but overlaps are frequent. Identifying shared and unique clinical markers is critical for research and clinical practice. Further research is needed to identify the role of genetic and pathological factors in such distribution, including also higher sample size of less represented groups., (© 2024. The Author(s).)- Published
- 2024
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25. Retinal and Cortical Visual Processing Dysfunction in a Case of Mild Cognitive Impairment with Lewy Bodies: A Case Report.
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Perini G, Cotta Ramusino M, Conca F, Cosentino G, Farina LM, Costa A, and Farina E
- Abstract
The prodromal stage of Lewy body dementia includes a mild cognitive impairment with visual processing and/or attention-executive deficits. A clinical presentation with progressive visual loss is indeed seldom reported and can be misleading with a posterior cortical atrophy disease. While the neurodegeneration at the occipital cortex can only partially explain the visual disturbances of Lewy body dementia, more recently a retinal dysfunction has been suggested by preliminary optical coherence tomography and autoptic findings. Herein, we present a case of a mild cognitive impairment with Lewy bodies, who presented initially with visual disturbances and signs of both retinal and cortical visual processing dysfunction. A complete neuropsychological, neurophysiological and brain imaging assessment highlighted a prominent ventral visual pathway involvement. This report provides first that the prodromal stage of Lewy body dementia can manifest as a primarily progressive visual loss, second that the involvement of visual pathway, particularly the ventral stream, can be detectable from the retinal to the cortical level., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflict of interest to report., (© 2024 – The authors. Published by IOS Press.)
- Published
- 2024
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26. The Italian Sensorimotor Norms: Perception and action strength measures for 959 words.
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Repetto C, Rodella C, Conca F, Santi GC, and Catricalà E
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- Humans, Reproducibility of Results, Psycholinguistics, Auditory Perception, Language, Semantics
- Abstract
Neuroscience research has provided evidence that semantic information is stored in a distributed brain network involved in sensorimotor and linguistic processing. More specifically, according to the embodied cognition accounts, the representation of concepts is deemed as grounded in our bodily states. For these reasons, normative measures of words should provide relevant information about the extent to which each word embeds perceptual and action properties. In the present study, we collected ratings for 959 Italian nouns and verbs from 398 volunteers, recruited via an online platform. The words were mostly taken from the Italian adaptation of the Affective Norms for English Words (ANEW). A pool of 145 verbs was added to the original set. All the words were rated on 11 sensorimotor dimensions: six perceptual modalities (vision, audition, taste, smell, touch, and interoception) and five effectors (hand-arm, foot-leg, torso, mouth, head). The new verbs were also rated on the ANEW dimensions. Results showed good reliability and consistency with previous studies. Relations between perceptual and motor dimensions are described and interpreted, along with relations between the sensorimotor and the affective dimensions. The currently developed dataset represents an important novelty, as it includes different word classes, i.e., both nouns and verbs, and integrates ratings of both sensorimotor and affective dimensions, along with other psycholinguistic parameters; all features only partially accomplished in previous studies., (© 2022. The Author(s).)
- Published
- 2023
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27. Cyclic AMP induces reversible EPAC1 condensates that regulate histone transcription.
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Iannucci LF, D'Erchia AM, Picardi E, Bettio D, Conca F, Surdo NC, Di Benedetto G, Musso D, Arrigoni C, Lolicato M, Vismara M, Grisan F, Salviati L, Milanesi L, Pesole G, and Lefkimmiatis K
- Subjects
- Cell Nucleus, Nuclear Proteins, Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases, Histones genetics, Cyclic AMP
- Abstract
The second messenger cyclic AMP regulates many nuclear processes including transcription, pre-mRNA splicing and mitosis. While most functions are attributed to protein kinase A, accumulating evidence suggests that not all nuclear cyclic AMP-dependent effects are mediated by this kinase, implying that other effectors may be involved. Here we explore the nuclear roles of Exchange Protein Activated by cyclic AMP 1. We find that it enters the nucleus where forms reversible biomolecular condensates in response to cyclic AMP. This phenomenon depends on intrinsically disordered regions present at its amino-terminus and is independent of protein kinase A. Finally, we demonstrate that nuclear Exchange Protein Activated by cyclic AMP 1 condensates assemble at genomic loci on chromosome 6 in the proximity of Histone Locus Bodies and promote the transcription of a histone gene cluster. Collectively, our data reveal an unexpected mechanism through which cyclic AMP contributes to nuclear spatial compartmentalization and promotes the transcription of specific genes., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)
- Published
- 2023
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28. Comparing two picture naming tasks in primary progressive aphasia: Insights from behavioural and neural results.
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Polito C, Conca F, Santi GC, Esposito V, Caminiti SP, Boccalini C, Berti V, Morinelli C, Mazzeo S, Marcone A, Iannaccone S, Bessi V, Sorbi S, Perani D, Cappa SF, and Catricalà E
- Subjects
- Humans, Male, Female, Aged, Positron-Emission Tomography, Psycholinguistics, Behavior, Neuroimaging, Aphasia, Primary Progressive diagnostic imaging, Aphasia, Primary Progressive psychology, Neuropsychological Tests, Brain diagnostic imaging
- Abstract
Picture naming tests are widely used to evaluate language impairments in neurodegenerative diseases, especially in Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA). The available tests differ for many factors affecting the performance, e.g. format of stimuli and their psycholinguistic properties. We aim to identify the most appropriate naming test to be used on PPA according to the clinical and research demands. We investigated the behavioural characteristics, i.e. proportion of correct responses and error type, and their neural correlates in two Italian naming tests, CaGi naming (CaGi) and naming subtest of the Screening for Aphasia in NeuroDegeneration battery (SAND), administered to 52 PPA patients who underwent an FDG-PET scan. We analysed the effectiveness of the tests in distinguishing PPA versus controls and among PPA variants, considering the psycholinguistic variables affecting performance. We explored the brain metabolic correlates of behavioural performance in the tests. SAND, differently from CaGi, has time limits for the response and its items are less frequent and acquired later. SAND and CaGi differed in terms of number of correct responses and error profile, suggesting a higher difficulty to name SAND items compared to CaGi. Semantic errors predominated in CaGi, while anomic and semantic errors were equally frequent in SAND. Both tests distinguished PPA from controls, but SAND outperformed CaGi in discriminating among PPA variants. FDG-PET imaging revealed a shared metabolic involvement of temporal areas associated with lexico-semantic processing, encompassing anterior fusiform, temporal pole, and extending to posterior fusiform in sv-PPA. Concluding, a picture naming test with response time limit and items which are less frequent and acquired later in life, as SAND, may be effective at highlighting subtle distinctions between PPA variants, improving the diagnosis. Conversely, a naming test without time limit for the response, as CaGi, may be useful for a better characterization of the nature of the naming impairment at the behavioural level, eliciting more naming errors than anomia, possibly helping in the development of rehabilitation protocols., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2023
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29. Virtual brain simulations reveal network-specific parameters in neurodegenerative dementias.
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Monteverdi A, Palesi F, Schirner M, Argentino F, Merante M, Redolfi A, Conca F, Mazzocchi L, Cappa SF, Cotta Ramusino M, Costa A, Pichiecchio A, Farina LM, Jirsa V, Ritter P, Gandini Wheeler-Kingshott CAM, and D'Angelo E
- Abstract
Introduction: Neural circuit alterations lay at the core of brain physiopathology, and yet are hard to unveil in living subjects. The Virtual Brain (TVB) modeling, by exploiting structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), yields mesoscopic parameters of connectivity and synaptic transmission., Methods: We used TVB to simulate brain networks, which are key for human brain function, in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) patients, whose connectivity and synaptic parameters remain largely unknown; we then compared them to healthy controls, to reveal novel in vivo pathological hallmarks., Results: The pattern of simulated parameter differed between AD and FTD, shedding light on disease-specific alterations in brain networks. Individual subjects displayed subtle differences in network parameter patterns that significantly correlated with their individual neuropsychological, clinical, and pharmacological profiles., Discussion: These TVB simulations, by informing about a new personalized set of networks parameters, open new perspectives for understanding dementias mechanisms and design personalized therapeutic approaches., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Monteverdi, Palesi, Schirner, Argentino, Merante, Redolfi, Conca, Mazzocchi, Cappa, Cotta Ramusino, Costa, Pichiecchio, Farina, Jirsa, Ritter, Gandini Wheeler-Kingshott and D’Angelo.)
- Published
- 2023
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30. Correction: Italian adaptation of the Uniform Data Set Neuropsychological Test Battery (I‑UDSNB 1.0): development and normative data.
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Conca F, Esposito V, Rundo F, Quaranta D, Muscio C, Manenti R, Caruso G, Lucca U, Galbussera AA, Di Tella S, Baglio F, L'Abbate F, Canu E, Catania V, Filippi M, Mattavelli G, Poletti B, Silani V, Lodi R, De Matteis M, Maserati MS, Arighi A, Rotondo E, Tanzilli A, Pace A, Garramone F, Cavaliere C, Pardini M, Rizzetto C, Sorbi S, Perri R, Tiraboschi P, Canessa N, Cotelli M, Ferri R, Weintraub S, Marra C, Tagliavini F, Catricalà E, and Cappa SF
- Published
- 2023
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31. Comprehensive qualitative characterization of linguistic performance profiles in primary progressive aphasia: a multivariate study with FDG-PET.
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Catricalà E, Santi GC, Polito C, Conca F, Esposito V, Caminiti SP, Boccalini C, Berti V, Bessi V, Marcone A, Iannaccone S, Sorbi S, Perani D, and Cappa SF
- Subjects
- Humans, Fluorodeoxyglucose F18, Positron-Emission Tomography methods, Language, Semantics, Magnetic Resonance Imaging methods, Brain diagnostic imaging, Aphasia, Primary Progressive diagnostic imaging, Aphasia, Primary Progressive complications
- Abstract
Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) classification relies on profile characterization of quantitatively impaired/spared performance in language tasks. In this study, we coextracted 8 qualitative types of errors in 67 PPA patients submitted to a comprehensive language assessment. Canonical correlation analysis was applied to simultaneously correlate qualitative errors and brain metabolism, collected with FDG-PET. Results showed the contribution of semantic, syntactic and working memory errors associated with specific correlates of regional metabolic changes. Reduced metabolism in the left fusiform gyrus, anterior-middle and inferior-temporal gyri and middle-temporal pole correlated with an increase of semantic errors. Hypometabolism in the left inferior, middle, and superior frontal gyri, insula and right middle-occipital gyrus was related to syntactic errors. Higher metabolism in the bilateral pallidum, putamen, and left thalamus, as well as hypometabolism in the left angular and supramarginal gyri, inferior-parietal lobule, posterior-middle and inferior-temporal gyri and posterior cingulum predicted the increase of working memory errors. A relevant role of working memory subcomponents was associated with distinct neural systems. Patients' profiles are easily represented in a qualitative multidimensional space, in which mixed PPA overlapped with different phenotypes., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Inc.)
- Published
- 2022
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32. Characterization of the logopenic variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
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Conca F, Esposito V, Giusto G, Cappa SF, and Catricalà E
- Subjects
- Humans, Neuropsychological Tests, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cerebral Cortex pathology, Aphasia, Primary Progressive diagnosis, Aphasia, Primary Progressive pathology, Aphasia, Primary Progressive psychology, Alzheimer Disease pathology
- Abstract
The linguistic and anatomical variability of the logopenic variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia (lv-PPA) as defined by current diagnostic criteria has been the topic of an intense debate. The present review and meta-analysis aims at characterizing the profile of lv-PPA, by a comprehensive analysis of the available literature on the neuropsychological, neuroimaging, electrophysiological, pathological, and genetic features of lv-PPA. We conducted a systematic bibliographic search, leading to the inclusion of 207 papers. Of them, 12 were used for the Anatomical Likelihood Estimation meta-analysis on grey matter revealed by magnetic resonance imaging data. The results suggest that the current guidelines outline a relatively consistent syndrome, characterized by a core set of linguistic and, to a lesser extent, non-linguistic deficits, mirroring the involvement of left temporal and parietal regions typically affected by Alzheimer Disease pathology. Variations of the lv-PPA profile are discussed in terms of heterogeneity of the neuropsychological instruments and the diagnostic criteria adopted., Competing Interests: Declarations of interest None., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2022
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33. Italian adaptation of the Uniform Data Set Neuropsychological Test Battery (I-UDSNB 1.0): development and normative data.
- Author
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Conca F, Esposito V, Rundo F, Quaranta D, Muscio C, Manenti R, Caruso G, Lucca U, Galbussera AA, Di Tella S, Baglio F, L'Abbate F, Canu E, Catania V, Filippi M, Mattavelli G, Poletti B, Silani V, Lodi R, De Matteis M, Stanzani Maserati M, Arighi A, Rotondo E, Tanzilli A, Pace A, Garramone F, Cavaliere C, Pardini M, Rizzetto C, Sorbi S, Perri R, Tiraboschi P, Canessa N, Cotelli M, Ferri R, Weintraub S, Marra C, Tagliavini F, Catricalà E, and Cappa SF
- Subjects
- Humans, Italy, Neuropsychological Tests, Alzheimer Disease diagnosis
- Abstract
Background: Neuropsychological testing plays a cardinal role in the diagnosis and monitoring of Alzheimer's disease. A major concern is represented by the heterogeneity of the neuropsychological batteries currently adopted in memory clinics and healthcare centers. The current study aimed to solve this issue., Methods: Following the initiative of the University of Washington's National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center (NACC), we presented the Italian adaptation of the Neuropsychological Test Battery of the Uniform Data Set (I-UDSNB). We collected data from 433 healthy Italian individuals and employed regression models to evaluate the impact of demographic variables on the performance, deriving the reference norms., Results: Higher education and lower age were associated with a better performance in the majority of tests, while sex affected only fluency tests and Digit Span Forward., Conclusions: The I-UDSNB offers a valuable and harmonized tool for neuropsychological testing in Italy, to be used in clinical and research settings., (© 2022. The Author(s).)
- Published
- 2022
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34. Effective connectivity within the neural system for object-directed action representation during aware and unaware tool processing.
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Ghio M, Conca F, Bellebaum C, Perani D, and Tettamanti M
- Subjects
- Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging methods, Temporal Lobe physiology, Visual Perception physiology, Brain Mapping methods, Visual Cortex
- Abstract
Previous brain functional specialization evidence has shown that both aware and unaware visual processing of manipulable objects activate left premotor, parietal, and posterior temporal cortices, which are thought to constitute object-directed action and object-function processing streams. An open question is whether, both under supraliminal and subliminal processing conditions, there is directional spread of activation along these functional streams, leading to causal inter-regional connectivity effects. In this study, we used Dynamic Causal Modelling to estimate the effective connectivity influences within the premotor-parieto-temporal network, as a function of factorial contrasts for Manipulability (manipulable vs non-manipulable objects) and Perceptual Awareness (above vs below perceptual threshold). We modeled forward and backward connections originating from visual area V4, as a region underlying object texture segregation, and spreading through the left premotor-parieto-temporal network. Both above and below perceptual threshold, the visual processing of manipulable objects was associated with a specific increase of reciprocal effective connectivity coupling among left premotor-parieto-temporal regions. Aware and unaware manipulable object processing differed from each other for their distinct patterns of top-down activation enhancement exerted, in the former case, by left premotor-parieto-temporal regions on area V4 and, in the latter case, by left premotor on temporal regions. Although it is only under aware processing conditions that effective connectivity in the action representation system may promote object visual contour segregation in area V4, our results suggest that the encoding of object-action and object-function information can occur through left-hemispheric premotor, parietal, and temporal causal interdependencies, even when the object is not consciously perceived., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2022
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35. Store-Operated Ca 2+ Entry Is Up-Regulated in Tumour-Infiltrating Lymphocytes from Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients.
- Author
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Faris P, Rumolo A, Tapella L, Tanzi M, Metallo A, Conca F, Negri S, Lefkimmiatis K, Pedrazzoli P, Lim D, Montagna D, and Moccia F
- Abstract
(1) Background: Store-operated Ca
2+ entry (SOCE) drives the cytotoxic activity of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) against cancer cells. However, SOCE can be enhanced in cancer cells due to an increase in the expression and/or function of its underlying molecular components, i.e., STIM1 and Orai1. Herein, we evaluated the SOCE expression and function in tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) from metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients. (2) Methods: Functional studies were conducted in TILs expanded ex vivo from CRC liver metastases. Peripheral blood T cells from healthy donors (hPBTs) and mCRC patients (cPBTs) were used as controls. (3) Results: SOCE amplitude is enhanced in TILs compared to hPBTs and cPBTs, but the STIM1 protein is only up-regulated in TILs. Pharmacological manipulation showed that the increase in SOCE mainly depends on tonic modulation by diacylglycerol kinase, which prevents the protein kinase C-dependent inhibition of SOCE activity. The larger SOCE caused a stronger Ca2+ response to T-cell receptor stimulation by autologous mCRC cells. Reducing Ca2+ influx with BTP-2 during target cell killing significantly increases cytotoxic activity at low target:effector ratios. (4) Conclusions: SOCE is enhanced in ex vivo-expanded TILs deriving from mCRC patients but decreasing Ca2+ influx with BTP-2 increases cytotoxic activity at a low TIL density.- Published
- 2022
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36. In search of different categories of abstract concepts: a fMRI adaptation study.
- Author
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Conca F, Catricalà E, Canini M, Petrini A, Vigliocco G, Cappa SF, and Della Rosa PA
- Subjects
- Adult, Brain Mapping, Cognition, Concept Formation, Female, Humans, Italy, Knowledge, Male, Reading, Reproducibility of Results, Semantics, Temporal Lobe physiology, Young Adult, Brain diagnostic imaging, Language, Magnetic Resonance Imaging methods
- Abstract
Concrete conceptual knowledge is supported by a distributed neural network representing different semantic features according to the neuroanatomy of sensory and motor systems. If and how this framework applies to abstract knowledge is currently debated. Here we investigated the specific brain correlates of different abstract categories. After a systematic a priori selection of brain regions involved in semantic cognition, i.e. responsible of, respectively, semantic representations and cognitive control, we used a fMRI-adaptation paradigm with a passive reading task, in order to modulate the neural response to abstract (emotions, cognitions, attitudes, human actions) and concrete (biological entities, artefacts) categories. Different portions of the left anterior temporal lobe responded selectively to abstract and concrete concepts. Emotions and attitudes adapted the left middle temporal gyrus, whereas concrete items adapted the left fusiform gyrus. Our results suggest that, similarly to concrete concepts, some categories of abstract knowledge have specific brain correlates corresponding to the prevalent semantic dimensions involved in their representation., (© 2021. The Author(s).)
- Published
- 2021
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37. Different types of abstract concepts: evidence from two neurodegenerative patients.
- Author
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Catricalà E, Conca F, Borsa VM, Cotelli M, Manenti R, Gobbi E, Binetti G, Cotta Ramusino M, Perini G, Costa A, Rusconi ML, and Cappa SF
- Subjects
- Emotions, Humans, Memory, Neuropsychological Tests, Semantics, Aphasia, Primary Progressive
- Abstract
The observation of neurological patients showing selective impairments for specific conceptual categories contributed in the development of semantic memory theories. Here, we studied two patients (P01, P02), affected, respectively, by the semantic variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia (sv-PPA) and Cortico-Basal Syndrome (CBS). An implicit lexical decision task, including concrete (animals, tools) and abstract (emotions, social, quantity) concepts, was administered to patients and healthy controls.P01 and P02 showed an abolished priming effect for social and quantity-related concepts, respectively. This double dissociation suggests a role of different brain areas in representing specific abstract categories, giving insights for current semantic memory theories.
- Published
- 2021
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38. Compartmentalized Signaling in Aging and Neurodegeneration.
- Author
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Di Benedetto G, Iannucci LF, Surdo NC, Zanin S, Conca F, Grisan F, Gerbino A, and Lefkimmiatis K
- Subjects
- Aging, Humans, Signal Transduction, Cyclic AMP metabolism, Neurodegenerative Diseases genetics
- Abstract
The cyclic AMP (cAMP) signalling cascade is necessary for cell homeostasis and plays important roles in many processes. This is particularly relevant during ageing and age-related diseases, where drastic changes, generally decreases, in cAMP levels have been associated with the progressive decline in overall cell function and, eventually, the loss of cellular integrity. The functional relevance of reduced cAMP is clearly supported by the finding that increases in cAMP levels can reverse some of the effects of ageing. Nevertheless, despite these observations, the molecular mechanisms underlying the dysregulation of cAMP signalling in ageing are not well understood. Compartmentalization is widely accepted as the modality through which cAMP achieves its functional specificity; therefore, it is important to understand whether and how this mechanism is affected during ageing and to define which is its contribution to this process. Several animal models demonstrate the importance of specific cAMP signalling components in ageing, however, how age-related changes in each of these elements affect the compartmentalization of the cAMP pathway is largely unknown. In this review, we explore the connection of single components of the cAMP signalling cascade to ageing and age-related diseases whilst elaborating the literature in the context of cAMP signalling compartmentalization.
- Published
- 2021
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39. Neural correlates of naming errors across different neurodegenerative diseases: An FDG-PET study.
- Author
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Catricalà E, Polito C, Presotto L, Esposito V, Sala A, Conca F, Gasparri C, Berti V, Filippi M, Pupi A, Sorbi S, Iannaccone S, Magnani G, Cappa SF, and Perani D
- Subjects
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Alzheimer Disease diagnostic imaging, Alzheimer Disease metabolism, Alzheimer Disease physiopathology, Aphasia, Primary Progressive diagnostic imaging, Aphasia, Primary Progressive metabolism, Aphasia, Primary Progressive physiopathology, Female, Fluorodeoxyglucose F18, Frontotemporal Dementia diagnostic imaging, Frontotemporal Dementia metabolism, Frontotemporal Dementia physiopathology, Humans, Male, Pattern Recognition, Visual physiology, Retrospective Studies, Semantics, Speech physiology, Supranuclear Palsy, Progressive diagnostic imaging, Supranuclear Palsy, Progressive metabolism, Supranuclear Palsy, Progressive physiopathology, Connectome, Dementia diagnostic imaging, Dementia metabolism, Dementia physiopathology, Language, Neurodegenerative Diseases diagnostic imaging, Neurodegenerative Diseases metabolism, Neurodegenerative Diseases physiopathology, Occipital Lobe diagnostic imaging, Occipital Lobe metabolism, Occipital Lobe physiopathology, Positron-Emission Tomography, Temporal Lobe diagnostic imaging, Temporal Lobe metabolism, Temporal Lobe physiopathology
- Abstract
Objective: To investigate the types of errors produced in a picture naming task by patients with neurodegenerative dementia due to different etiologies and their neural correlates., Methods: The same standardized picture naming test was administered to a consecutive sample of patients (n = 148) who had been studied with [
18 F] FDG-PET. The errors were analyzed in 3 categories (visual, semantic, and phonologic). The PET data were analyzed using an optimized single-subject procedure, and the statistical parametric mapping multiple regression design was used to explore the correlation between each type of error and brain hypometabolism in the whole group. Metabolic connectivity analyses were run at the group level on 7 left hemisphere cortical areas corresponding to an a priori defined naming network., Results: Semantic errors were predominant in most patients, independent of clinical diagnosis. In the whole group analysis, visual errors correlated with hypometabolism in the right inferior occipital lobe and in the left middle occipital lobe. Semantic errors correlated with hypometabolism in the left fusiform gyrus, the inferior and middle temporal gyri, and the temporal pole. Phonologic errors were associated with hypometabolism in the left superior and middle temporal gyri. Both positive (occipital-posterior fusiform) and negative (anterior fusiform gyrus and the superior anterior temporal lobe) connectivity changes were associated with semantic errors., Conclusions: Naming errors reflect the dysfunction of separate stages of the naming process and are specific markers for different patterns of brain involvement. These correlations are not limited to primary progressive aphasia but extend to other neurodegenerative dementias., (© 2020 American Academy of Neurology.)- Published
- 2020
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40. High gamma response tracks different syntactic structures in homophonous phrases.
- Author
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Artoni F, d'Orio P, Catricalà E, Conca F, Bottoni F, Pelliccia V, Sartori I, Russo GL, Cappa SF, Micera S, and Moro A
- Abstract
Syntax is a species-specific component of human language combining a finite set of words in a potentially infinite number of sentences. Since words are by definition expressed by sound, factoring out syntactic information is normally impossible. Here, we circumvented this problem in a novel way by designing phrases with exactly the same acoustic content but different syntactic structures depending on the other words they occur with. In particular, we used phrases merging an article with a noun yielding a Noun Phrase (NP) or a clitic with a verb yielding a Verb Phrase (VP). We performed stereo-electroencephalographic (SEEG) recordings in epileptic patients. We measured a different electrophysiological correlates of verb phrases vs. noun phrases in multiple cortical areas in both hemispheres, including language areas and their homologous in the non-dominant hemisphere. The high gamma band activity (150-300 Hz frequency), which plays a crucial role in inter-regional cortical communications, showed a significant difference during the presentation of the homophonous phrases, depending on whether the phrase was a verb phrase or a noun phrase. Our findings contribute to the ultimate goal of a complete neural decoding of linguistic structures from the brain.
- Published
- 2020
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41. State-dependent TMS reveals the differential contribution of ATL and IPS to the representation of abstract concepts related to social and quantity knowledge.
- Author
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Catricalà E, Conca F, Fertonani A, Miniussi C, and Cappa SF
- Subjects
- Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Parietal Lobe, Social Behavior, Brain Mapping, Concept Formation, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
- Abstract
The neural representation of abstract concepts is a current matter of debate. While social concepts have been associated to superior anterior temporal lobe (sATL), the neural correlates of quantity-related concepts have seldom been investigated. The right intraparietal sulcus (IPS) is known to be involved in the processing of numerical information and of quantifiers. In the present study, we investigated the causal role of right sATL and right IPS in representing social and quantity-related concepts, using a state-dependent transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)-priming paradigm. We modulated the neural activation by priming to a category label (either SOCIAL or QUANTITY), before applying TMS and presenting the target (i.e., an exemplar of one of the two abstract classes). When the target word belonged to the quantity category, TMS applied over the IPS (but not sATL) abolished the expected priming effect by speeding up reaction times (RTs) in incongruent trials. For the social category, both IPS and sATL stimulation abolished the priming effect, by reducing RTs in incongruent trials. Our results suggest a specialization of distinct brain areas in processing different classes of abstract concepts. The right IPS contains neuronal representations tuned to quantity-related concepts, in line with its well-known role in numerical and magnitude representation. Social concepts, in contrast, are represented in both the right sATL and the right IPS, known to be involved in social cognition and person-related knowledge., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
42. Unaware Processing of Tools in the Neural System for Object-Directed Action Representation.
- Author
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Tettamanti M, Conca F, Falini A, and Perani D
- Subjects
- Brain Mapping methods, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging methods, Male, Random Allocation, Visual Perception physiology, Young Adult, Motion Perception physiology, Motor Cortex physiology, Photic Stimulation methods, Psychomotor Performance physiology, Visual Cortex physiology
- Abstract
The hypothesis that the brain constitutively encodes observed manipulable objects for the actions they afford is still debated. Yet, crucial evidence demonstrating that, even in the absence of perceptual awareness, the mere visual appearance of a manipulable object triggers a visuomotor coding in the action representation system including the premotor cortex, has hitherto not been provided. In this fMRI study, we instantiated reliable unaware visual perception conditions by means of continuous flash suppression, and we tested in 24 healthy human participants (13 females) whether the visuomotor object-directed action representation system that includes left-hemispheric premotor, parietal, and posterior temporal cortices is activated even under subliminal perceptual conditions. We found consistent activation in the target visuomotor cortices, both with and without perceptual awareness, specifically for pictures of manipulable versus non-manipulable objects. By means of a multivariate searchlight analysis, we also found that the brain activation patterns in this visuomotor network enabled the decoding of manipulable versus non-manipulable object picture processing, both with and without awareness. These findings demonstrate the intimate neural coupling between visual perception and motor representation that underlies manipulable object processing: manipulable object stimuli specifically engage the visuomotor object-directed action representation system, in a constitutive manner that is independent from perceptual awareness. This perceptuo-motor coupling endows the brain with an efficient mechanism for monitoring and planning reactions to external stimuli in the absence of awareness. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Our brain constantly encodes the visual information that hits the retina, leading to a stimulus-specific activation of sensory and semantic representations, even for objects that we do not consciously perceive. Do these unconscious representations encompass the motor programming of actions that could be accomplished congruently with the objects' functions? In this fMRI study, we instantiated unaware visual perception conditions, by dynamically suppressing the visibility of manipulable object pictures with mondrian masks. Despite escaping conscious perception, manipulable objects activated an object-directed action representation system that includes left-hemispheric premotor, parietal, and posterior temporal cortices. This demonstrates that visuomotor encoding occurs independently of conscious object perception., (Copyright © 2017 the authors 0270-6474/17/3710712-13$15.00/0.)
- Published
- 2017
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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