caramazza

The organization of object knowledge in the brain – Domains and attributes

Alfonso Caramazza

 Cognitive Neuropsychology Laboratory, Harvard University

Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento

    We know different kinds of things about objects such as their physical attributes, how they are used, their function, where they are likely to be found, their value, and their relation to other objects. What are the principles that guide the representation and organization of this knowledge in the brain?  

    The different forms of agnosia and category-specific semantic deficits that result from brain damage suggest that both object domain, principally the animate–inanimate distinction, and attributes, such as shape, color, and function, serve as organizing principles. 

    Neuroimaging results further support the role of both domain and attributes in the organization of object knowledge, as revealed, for example, by the preeminent role of domain in the large-scale organization of object-responsive, occipital and temporal cortex.  

    However, studies with congenitally blind participants have shown that this neural organization does not depend on visual experience, raising fundamental questions about the nature of putatively modality-specific representations and about the role of experience versus evolutionary pressures in determining the organization of object knowledge in the brain.

References:

Caramazza, A., Mahon, B.Z., (2003). The organization of conceptual knowledge: The evidence from category-specific semantic deficits. Trends in Cognitive Science, 7: 354-361.

Mahon, B. Z., Caramazza, A. (2011). What drives the organization of object knowledge in the brain? Trends in Cognitive Science, 15: 97-103.