Research Reveals How Brain Connections Between Language and Vision Influence Object Knowledge in Stroke Patients

Recent research published in PLOS Biology explores the critical role of the brain's interconnected systems in shaping how we understand objects. A team led by Bo Liu from Beijing Normal University examined how the connection between visual processing regions and language areas influences the brain’s ability to encode knowledge about objects, such as their typical colors. The study focused on stroke patients, investigating how damage to neural pathways affects their object color awareness.

The findings show that when the connections between language and visual areas are strong, individuals have a better grasp of object-specific attributes, like the yellow color of a banana. Conversely, disruption of these pathways results in diminished sensory object knowledge, despite preserved visual recognition capabilities. These insights suggest that language regions are not only involved in communication but also play a vital role in the sensory and perceptual memory of objects.

The researchers used functional MRI and diffusion imaging to analyze brain activity and white matter connections in 33 stroke patients compared to 35 control subjects. Their results demonstrated a direct correlation: stronger connectivity between the ventral occipitotemporal cortex (VOTC) and language regions facilitated more accurate color identification. Importantly, these effects were independent of lesion size or general visual recognition skills, highlighting the specific role of the brain's communication pathways.

This study underscores the sophisticated integration of vision and language in human cognition. Damage to these neural connections can lead to deficits in object knowledge, emphasizing that language systems help organize and store sensory information in the brain. These findings contribute to our understanding of how sensory experiences are neurally encoded and reveal the importance of interconnected brain networks in maintaining knowledge about the world.

Source: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-05-patients-brain-vision-language-knowledge.html