Neurocognition of New Word Learning in the Native Tongue: Lessons From the Ancient Farming Equipment Paradigm

Here we review behavioral, neuroimaging, and neuropharmacological studies using a word learning task labeled as the Ancient Farming Equipment paradigm. This task has been used to explore the neural correlates of explicit learning and maintenance of new names for novel objects in the native tongue. The main conclusions drawn from these studies are as follows: (a) Retrieval of both the newly learned and familiar names is subserved by predominantly left hemispheric cortical regions; (b) within this network, retrieval of newly learned words can be accomplished in different ways depending on the exact form of training; (c) patient studies indicate that episodic memory mechanisms subserved by hippocampal structures are related to word acquisition rather than to long-term maintenance of newly learned words; (d) explicit learning and maintenance of novel words can be facilitated by neuropharmacological manipulation that boosts the dopaminergic system; and (b) neural events following completed training may predict long-term retention of newly learned words.