Lichtheim 2: synthesizing aphasia and the neural basis of language in a neurocomputational model of the dual dorsal-ventral language pathways

Abstract

Traditional neurological models of language were based on a single neural pathway (the dorsal pathway underpinned by the arcuate fasciculus). Contemporary neuroscience indicates that anterior temporal regions and the "ventral" language pathway also make a significant contribution, yet there is no computationally-implemented model of the dual pathway, nor any synthesis of normal and aphasic behavior. The "Lichtheim 2" model was implemented by developing a new variety of computational model which reproduces and explains normal and patient data but also incorporates neuroanatomical information into its architecture. By bridging the "mind-brain" gap in this way, the resultant "neurocomputational" model provides a unique opportunity to explore the relationship between lesion location and behavioral deficits, and to provide a platform for simulating functional neuroimaging data.