Cerebral correlates of imitation of intransitive gestures: An integrative review of neuroimaging data and brain lesion studies. (December 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lesourd, Mathieu; Osiurak, François; Baumard, Josselin; Bartolo, Angela; Vanbellingen, Tim; Reynaud, Emanuelle
• Is Part Of: Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews. Volume 95(2018)
• Page Start: 44
• Page End: 60
• Publication Date: 2018-12
• Subjects: aSMG anterior portion of SMG -- ACC anterior cingulate cortex -- AG angular gyrus -- BA44 Broca area (Brodmann area 44) -- DIPSA anterior dorsal intraparietal sulcus -- dPMC dorsal pre-motor cortex (BA6) -- IFG inferior frontal gyrus -- IPL inferior parietal lobe -- IPS intraparietal sulcus -- ITG inferior temporal gyrus -- MFG middle frontal gyrus -- phAIP putative human homologue of anterior intraparietal area -- PO parietal operculum -- PoG post-central gyrus -- PrG pre-central gyrus -- SFG superior frontal gyrus -- SMG supramarginal gyrus -- SPL superior parietal lobe -- TPJ temporo-parietal junction -- vPMC ventral pre-motor cortex (BA6); Neuroimaging -- Brain-damaged patients -- Imitation -- Intransitive gestures -- Hand posture -- Finger posture -- Parietal lobe -- Apraxia; Psychophysiology -- Periodicals; Human behavior -- Periodicals; Animal behavior -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; Behavior -- Periodicals; Ethology -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; Psychophysiologie -- Périodiques; Comportement humain -- Périodiques; Animaux -- Mœurs et comportement -- Périodiques; Neurologie -- Périodiques; Animal behavior; Human behavior; Neurology; Psychophysiology; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 573.8
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.07.019
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0149-7634

Abstract

Highlights: Neuroimaging data and brain lesions concerning imitation of gestures are reviewed. Imitation of intransitive gestures activates a bilateral fronto-parietal network. More brain areas are involved in meaningless compared to meaningful gestures. The angular gyrus is particularly important for body part coding. These results question neuropsychological accounts on apraxia. Abstract: The aim of the present review is to investigate the cerebral correlates, more particularly the role of the parietal lobe, when imitating intransitive gestures, a task highly sensitive to apraxic errors. By providing an integrative review of functional imaging and brain lesion studies, we focused our attention on the meaning of gestures (meaningful and meaningless) and the body parts (finger and hand). We found that imitation of intransitive gestures is relying upon a bilateral brain network including fronto-parietal areas irrespective of meaning or body parts. Moreover, we observed that while imitation of meaningful and meaningless gestures is predominantly impacted following left parietal lesions, more brain areas are engaged during meaningless gesture imitation. Concerning body parts, whereas imitation of hand postures is relying upon the left parietal lobe (angular gyrus), imitation of finger postures is more likely to be impaired following lesions in the frontal lobe, insula and basal ganglia. These results question neuropsychological theories on apraxia and open promising avenues for a better understanding of apraxia.