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Blogposts & Press

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Publications

Borghesani, V., Battistella, G., Mandelli, M., Miller, Z., & Gorno-Tempini, M.L. (2020) Regional and hemispheric susceptibility of the temporal lobe to FTLD-TDP type C pathology NeuroImage:Clinical [pre-print]

Leveraging the largest cohort of path-proven TDP-43-C cases clinically described, we shed light on regional temporal lobe susceptibility to this proteinopathy and its effects on cognition. First, we show that, contrary to expectations, predominant right-sided atrophy occurs in up to 40% of cases diagnosed with temporal variants of FTD caused by TDP-43-C. Moreover, we provide the first detailed characterization of atrophy distribution within the ATLs, indicating that medial ATL regions are the most vulnerable to TDP-43-C pathology. Finally, we show that atrophy progression is similar irrespective of the initial lateralization, which in turns drives the clinical manifestations.

Borghesani, V., Hinkley, L.B., Ranasinghe, K., Thompson, M., Shwe, W., Mizuiri, D., Honma, S., Henry, M., Houde, J.F., Miller, Z., Nagarajan, S.S., & Gorno-Tempini, M.L. (2020) Taking the sub-lexical route: the spatiotemporal dynamics of reading in semantic variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia. Brain [pre-print]

We investigate brain dynamics during irregular word reading using magnetoencephalographic imaging in patients with semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia. Due to ventral anterior temporal lobe neurodegeneration, patients show greater reliance of dorsal, occipito-parietal brain regions – providing novel evidence for the interplay between ventral and dorsal routes for reading.

Borghesani, V.*, Riello, M.*, Gesierich, B., Brentari, V., Monti, A., & Gorno-Tempini, M. (2019) The Neural Representations of Movement across Semantic Categories. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

In this fMRI experiment, we compare three semantic categories (animals, tools, nontools) across two tasks (do they move in a similar way? vs. are they found in the same place?). Using both univariate and multivariate analyses we show that the same left fronto-parietal network is recruited to process movement properties of items (including both biological and non-biological motion ) regardless of their semantic category.

Borghesani, V., Narvid, J., Battistella, G., Shwe, W., Watson, C., Binney, R., Sturm, V., Miller, Z., Mandelli, M.L., Miller, B., Gorno-Tempini, M.L. (2019) "Looks familiar, but I do not know who she is”: The role of the anterior right temporal lobe in famous face recognition. Cortex

Looking at a face, have you ever had the feeling you know who she is but cannot remember her name or personal details? Thanks to three carefully designed experimental tasks we investigate the neural correlates of name retrieval, semantic information association, and familiarity judgment in a large population of healthy controls and patients with neurodegenerative diseases. Our finding suggest that while naming and semantic association rely on the integrity of the left anterior temporal lobe, the right anterior temporal lobe is crucial for familiarity judgment.

Borghesani, V., Buiatti, M., Eger, E., & Piazza, M. (2018). Conceptual and Perceptual Dimensions of Word Meaning Are Recovered Rapidly and in Parallel during Reading. Journal of cognitive neuroscience, 1-14. [PDF]

In this MEG experiment, we investigated whether perceptual and conceptual dimensions of word meaning are associated to different temporal dynamics. We compared one conceptual dimension (semantic category) and two perceptual dimensions (one concerning a visual feature - the implied real world size, and one concerning an auditory feature – prototypical sound). Our results indicate an automatic, rapid and essentially simultaneous recovery of information along both perceptual and conceptual dimensions of word meaning. However, the three different dimensions appear to dissociate in terms of the brain dynamics involved (changes in phase coherence vs spectral power) and the corresponding underlying sources.


Borghesani, V., de Hevia, M. D., Viarouge, A., Chagas, P. P., Eger, E., & Piazza, M. (2018). Processing number and length in the parietal cortex: Sharing resources, not a common code. Cortex. [PDF]

Ten is more than seven. And 5 cm are more than 3 cm. How similar are the neural processes in action to perform these comparisons? Univariate analysis of fMRI data suggest that both numerical and spatial magnitude comparisons recruit a bilateral occipito-parietal network. However, multivariate analysis indicate that the underlying representational content differ. Thus numerical and spatial magnitudes appear to share common neural resources, yet not a common neural code.

Borghesani, V., Pedregosa, F., Buiatti, M., Amadon, A., Eger, E., & Piazza, M. (2016). Word meaning in the ventral visual path: a perceptual to conceptual gradient of semantic coding. NeuroImage, 143, 128-140. [PDF]

In this fMRI experiment we tested the hypothesis that perceptual and conceptual dimensions of word meaning are coded in different brain regions: perceptual dimension in unimodal perceptual areas, conceptual dimension in heteromodal association areas. We tested the presence of a mapping between a perceptual dimension (implied real object size) and two conceptual dimensions (taxonomic categories at different levels of specificity), and the patterns of brain activity recorded in six areas along the ventral occipito–temporal cortical path. Combining multivariate pattern classification and representational similarity analysis, we found that the visual-perceptual dimension appears to be primarily encoded in early visual regions, while the conceptual dimension in more anterior temporal regions. This anteroposterior gradient of information content, from perceptual to conceptual, indicates that different areas along the ventral stream encode complementary dimensions of the semantic space.

Other Published Work:

Tzovara, A. Amarreh, I., Borghesani, V., etc… (2021) Embracing diversity and inclusion in academia: Insights from the Organization for Human Brain Mapping , NeuroImage [pre-print]

The Open Brain Consent working group (2021) The Open Brain Consent: a template for informing research participants and obtaining consent to share brain imaging data, Human Brain Mapping [pre-print]

Caso, F., Agosta, F., Magnani, G., Cardamone, R., Borghesani, V., Miller, Z., ... & Seeley, W. W. (2020). Temporal variant of frontotemporal dementia in C9orf72 repeat expansion carriers: two case studies. Brain Imaging and Behavior, 1-10.

Pasquini, L., .... Borghesani, V., … & Seeley, W.W. (2019) State and trait characteristics of anterior insula time-varying functional connectivity. NeuroImage

Battistella, G., Borghesani, V., … & Gorno-Tempini, M.L. (2019) Task-free functional language networks: reliability, reproducibility and clinical application. Journal of Neuroscience

Vonk*, J., Borghesani*, V., … & Gorno-Tempini, M.L. (2019) Verbal semantics and the left dorsolateral anterior temporal lobe: a longitudinal case of bilateral temporal degeneration. Aphasiology

Borghesani, V., Monti, A., Fortis, P., & Miceli, G. (2019 ) Reduplicative paramnesia for places: A comprehensive review of the literature and a new case report. Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery

Battistella, G., Henry, M., Gesierich, B., Wilson, S.M., Borghesani, V., Shwe, W., Miller, Z., Deleon, J., Bruce, M., Jovicich, J., Papinutto, N., Seeley, W.W. , Dronkers, N., Mandelli, M.L., & Gorno-Tempini, M.L. (2019) Differential intrinsic functional connectivity changes in three language networks in Semantic Primary Progressive Aphasia. NeuroImage Clinical

Borghesani, V., & Piazza, M. (2017). The neuro-cognitive representations of symbols: the case of concrete words. Neuropsychologia, 105, 4-17. [PDF]

Borghesani*, V., de Hevia*, L., Viarouge*, A., Pinheiro Chagas, P., Eger, E., & Piazza, M. (2016). Comparing magnitudes across dimensions: a univariate and multivariate approach. International Workshop on Pattern Recognition in Neuroimaging (pp. 1-4). [PDF]

Borghesani, V., Pedregosa, F., Eger, E., Buiatti, M., & Piazza, M. (2014). A perceptual-to-conceptual gradient of word coding along the ventral path. International Workshop on Pattern Recognition in Neuroimaging (pp. 1-4). [PDF]

Under Review

Borghesani, V., Dale, C., Hinkley, L.B., Lukic, S.., Lauricella, M., Shwe, W., Mizuiri, D., Honma, S., Houde, J.F., Miller, Z., Gorno-Tempini, M.L, .& Nagarajan, S.S., (under review) Neural dynamics of semantic categorization in semantic variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia. [pre-print]

Borghesani, V., Wang, C., Miller, C., Mandelli, M., Miller, Z., Fox, C., Gorno-Tempini, M.L. & Watson, C. (under review) The resilience of the developing reading system: multi-modal evidence of incident and recovery after a pediatric stroke. [pre-print]

Vigano, S., Borghesani, V., & Piazza, M. (under review) Imaging the Human Brain Solving the Symbol-Grounding Problem

Lukic, S., Borghesani, V., Shwe, W., Weis, L., Neuhaus, J., Jessica, Miller, Z., Miller, L. B., Gorno-Tempini, M.L. (under review) Dissociating Grammatical Categories in Temporal and Perisylvian networks: Evidence from Neurodegenerative Disease. [abstract at AoA]

In Preparation

Borghesani, V., Lukic, S., Licata, A., Bogley, R., Weis, E., Welch, A., Hinkley, L.B.N., Mizuiri, D., Honma, S., Miller, B., Miller, Z., Houde, J.F., Nagarajan, S.S., Dronkers, N., & Gorno-Tempini, M.L. (in prep) Auditory verb generation performance dissociates variants of Primary Progressive Aphasia.

Borghesani*, V., Wang*, G., Mandelli, M., Cavesarzi, E., Battistella, G., etc… & Gorno-Tempini, M.L. (in prep) Functional and morphological correlates of developmental dyslexia: a multimodal investigation of the ventral occipitotemporal cortex.

Kyan, Y., Borghesani, V., Montembeault, M., … , Gorno-Tempini, M.L. (in prep). Right Temporal Degeneration and Conceptual Loss of Emotions: Semantic-variant Frontotemporal Dementia?

Book Chapter

Borghesani, V., & Gorno-Tempini, M.L. (2019) Afasia primaria progressiva. In Afasiologia. Eds. Monti A., & Gilardone, M. FrancoAngeli.

Lukic, S., Borghesani, V, Gorno-Tempini, M.L., Battistella, G. (under review) Voxel-based brain-behavior mapping in neurodegenerative diseases. (to appear in Lesion-to-symptom mapping: Principles and tools, Edited by Dorian Pustina and Daniel Mirman)

Borghesani, V., & Gorno-Tempini, M.L. (in prep) Frontotemporal dementia: a unique window on the functional role of the temporal lobes. (to appear in The Temporal Lobe – Handbook of Clinical Neurology (Elsevier), Edited by Gabriele Miceli and Paolo Bartolomeo)


Posters & Talks

Borghesani, V., Lukic, S., Hinkley, L.B.N., Licata, A., Bogley, R., Weis, E., Welch, A., Mizuiri, D., Miller, B., Miller, Z., Houde, J.F., Nagarajan, S.S., Dronkers, N., & Gorno-Tempini, M.L. (2020) Language networks reorganization in neurodegenerative disorders: behavioral, structural, and functional evidence from semantic variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia. NeuroMatch 3.0 [youtubevideo]

Borghesani, V., Lukic, S., Licata, A., Bogley, R., Weis, E., Welch, A., Hinkley, L.B.N., Mizuiri, D., Honma, S., Miller, B., Miller, Z., Houde, J.F., Nagarajan, S.S., Dronkers, N., & Gorno-Tempini, M.L. (2020) Auditory verb generation performance dissociates variants of Primary Progressive Aphasia SNL, Society for the Neurobiology of Language [pdf] [youtubevideo]

Borghesani, V., Dale , C., Lukic , S., Hinkley, L., Lauricella , M., Shwe , W., Mizuiri, D., Honma, S., Miller, Z., Miller, B., Houde, J., Gorno-Tempini, M-L., & Nagarajan, S. (2020) The neural dynamics of semantic categorization in semantic variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia. OHBM, Organization for Human Brain Mapping [pdf]

Borghesani, V., Battistella, G., Mandelli, M., Rabinovici, G., Grinberg, L., Seeley, W., Miller, Z., & Gorno-Tempini, M.L. (2019) Parcellation of the anterior temporal lobes in semantic variant PPA caused by TDP-43-C pathology OHBM, Organization for Human Brain Mapping

Borghesani, V., Hinkley, L.B., Dale, C.L., Ranasinghe, K., Thompson, M., Lauricella, W., Shwe, W., Mizuiri, D., Honma, S., Houde, J.F., Miller, Z., Nagarajan, S.S., & Gorno-Tempini, M.L. (2019) The semantic variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia: a window into the spatiotemporal dynamics of language. Symposium: Neural bases of speech production

Borghesani, V., Hinkley, L.B., Ranasinghe, K., Thompson, M., Shwe, W., Mizuiri, D., Honma, S., Houde, J.F., Miller, Z., Nagarajan, S.S., & Gorno-Tempini, M.L. (2018) Taking the sub-lexical route: the spatiotemporal dynamics of reading in semantic variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia. SfN, Society of Neuroscience

Borghesani, V., (2017) Helping the quest for language in the brain. Science Hack Day - San Francisco

Borghesani, V., de Hevia*, L., Viarouge*, A., Pinheiro Chagas, P., Eger, E., & Piazza, M. (2016).Comparing magnitudes across dimensions: a univariate and multivariate approach. PRNI, International Workshop on Pattern Recognition in Neuroimaging

Borghesani, V., de Hevia*, L., Viarouge*, A., Pinheiro Chagas, P., Eger, E., & Piazza, M. (2016). Few: Many = Short: Long? Coding Of Magnitude Across Different Quantitative Dimensions. CAOS, Concepts, Actions, Objects

Borghesani, V., Eger, E., Buiatti, M., & Piazza, M. (2015) Perceptual and conceptual semantic dimensions: where and when? SNL, Society for the neurobiology of language

Borghesani, V., Eger, E., Buiatti, M., & Piazza, M. (2015) Can you see what I mean? Perceptual and conceptual semantics during words reading. SfN, Society of Neuroscience

Borghesani, V., Pedregosa, F., Eger, E., Buiatti, M., & Piazza, M. (2014) A perceptual-to-conceptual gradient of word coding along the ventral path. PRNI, International Workshop on Pattern Recognition in Neuroimaging [selected for oral presentation]

Borghesani, V., Pedregosa, F., Eger, E., Buiatti, M., & Piazza, M. (2014) Word reading in the ventral stream: A perceptual to conceptual gradient of information coding. CAOS, Concepts, Actions, Objects [selected for oral presentation and winner of the best poster award]


Theses

PhD thesis: Thesis committee: Christophe Pallier (advisor), Manuela Piazza (advisor), James Haxby (reviewer), Rik Vandenberghe (reviewer), Laurent Cohen (examiner), Marius Peelen (examiner). “The Neuro-Cognitive Representation of Word Meaning Resolved in Space and Time. [PDF]

Master thesis: a single case study on the neuropsychological substrate of reduplicative paramnesia (supervisor dott.ssa Alessia Monti PhD). In Italian: “Analisi neuropsicologica della paramnesia reduplicativa per i luoghi: stato dell’arte e studio di un caso”. [PDF]

Bachelor thesis: a tDCS study investigating the role of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in cognitive dissonance (supervisor Prof. G. di Pellegrino MD, PhD). In Italian: “Il ruolo della corteccia dorsolaterale prefrontale nella dissonanza cognitiva”. [PDF]