Hemodynamic response in a geographical word naming verbal fluency test

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Neuroimaging

Background:

• Verbal Fluency Tasks (VFTs) are widely used to assess word retrieval and executive functions.
• Exploring novel VFT variations can reveal nuanced cognitive processes and their neural correlates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the functional hemodynamic response during a novel geographical Verbal Fluency Task (VFT).
• To identify brain regions involved in retrieving geographical words and their relation to spatial cognition.

Main Methods:

• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed to measure brain activity.
• Participants performed a geographical VFT alternating with arithmetic subtraction tasks over 7 trials.
• Brain activity was contrasted between the geographical naming and arithmetic subtraction conditions.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in brain activity were observed between the two conditions (p < .05, FWE corrected).
• Activation was noted in the medial prefrontal gyrus (word retrieval, phonological awareness).
• Increased activity was also found in the parahippocampal gyrus, posterior cingulate cortex, and lingual gyrus (spatial cognition).

Conclusions:

• The geographical VFT engages brain areas associated with both word retrieval and spatial cognition.
• This task could serve as a valuable tool for exploring cognitive processes, particularly spatial cognition.
• Future research should consider gender effects and remove phonological constraints.