18.05.2011From crossword puzzles to making coffee: The organization of semantic knowledge in the brain

Dr. Christian Bellebaum, Neuropsychology, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Our memory is very powerful. In addition to vivid recollections of personal experiences we have general knowledge about the world, the so-called “semantic knowledge”. It is being acquired during the entire life and it includes, for example, knowledge about the appearance and function of organisms and objects. Neuroscientists still argue about how this knowledge is organized in the brain. Studies with brain-damaged patients in the 1980s had shown that knowledge of “animate” (animals, plants) and “inanimate” things (tools) can get lost separately. On the basis of current findings and theories, Dr. Christian Bellebaum explores the question whether the “semantic knowledge” can be organized in such a “category-specific” way.