Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J A Fiez.
Recent advances in neuroimaging have led to an increase in the types of studies possible in the field of cognitive neuroscience. Researchers are now using neuroimaging to enhance classic approaches, such as lesion-behavior studies, as well as provide information about normal functions at levels that were previously difficult to assess.
A previously conducted positron emission tomography (PET) study of normal humans suggested that the cerebellum makes important non-motor contributions to language processing. Beginning with the task which produced right cerebellar PET activation, we studied a 49-yr-old male (RC1) with right cerebellar damage on a variety of tasks involving complex non-motor processing. Whereas RC1's performance on standard tests of memory, intelligence, 'frontal function' and language skills was excellent, he had profound deficits in two areas: (1) practice-related learning; (2) detection of errors. Considered in relation to cerebellar contributions to motor tasks, the results suggest some functions performed by the cerebellum may be generalized beyond a purely motor domain.