New research published on May 20, 2025, in PLOS Biology reveals that the brain uses connections between vision and language to understand objects. According to a study led by Bo Liu from Beijing Normal University, knowing an object's color relies on communication between visual and language areas. This connection is essential for recalling details, such as a banana's yellow color.
The study focused on the ventral occipitotemporal cortex (VOTC), which processes visual features, and the dorsal anterior temporal lobe (ATL), linked to language and semantic knowledge. Researchers discovered that strong connections between these areas are crucial for accurate object recognition. They compared color-identification behavior in 33 stroke patients to 35 demographically-matched controls, using fMRI to record brain activity and diffusion imaging to map the white matter connections between language regions and the VOTC.
Stroke patients with damage to these connections struggled to recall object colors, highlighting the importance of these neural pathways. These findings could lead to new therapies for stroke and dementia patients, potentially improving cognitive function by targeting and strengthening these vital brain connections.