Nina Dronkers, PhD.

VA Research Career Scientist
Director, Center for Aphasia & Related Disorders
Adjunct Professor, Department of Neurology, University of California, Davis

Research Interests

Dr. Dronkers’ research and clinical interests have always focused on understanding the speech, language, and cognitive disorders that occur after injury to the brain. She and her colleagues have worked extensively with individuals who have aphasia to understand the relationship between areas of the brain affected by injury and the speech and language disorders that ensue. Using novel methodologies, Dr. Dronkers and her colleagues have isolated numerous brain regions that play critical roles in the processing of speech and language, as well as how these relate to other cognitive skills. Her latest work involves analyzing the structural and functional connections that contribute to language and cognitive processing through advanced work with diffusion and resting state functional neuroimaging. 

Publications

• Vitoria Piai, Kristopher L. Anderson, Jack J. Lin, Callum Dewar, Josef Parvizi, Nina F. Dronkersf, and Robert T. Knight. Direct brain recordings reveal hippocampal rhythm underpinnings of language processing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2016): 201603312

Stephanie K. Ries, Rummit K. Dhillon, Alex Clarke, David King-Stephens, Kenneth D. Laxer, Peter B. Weber, Rachel A. Kuperman, Kurtis I. Auguste, Peter Brunner, Gerwin Schalk, Jack J. Lin, Josef Parviz, Nathan E. Crone, Nina F. Dronkers, and Robert T. Knight. “Spatiotemporal dynamics of word retrieval in speech production revealed by cortical high-frequency band activity.” PNAS (2017): 1-9. 

Ivanova, Maria V., Svetlana V. Kuptsova, and Nina F. Dronkers. “A comparison of two working memory tasks in aphasia.” Aphasiology (2016): 1-17.Ries, S. K., Dronkers, N. F., & Knight, R. T. Choosing words: left hemisphere, right hemisphere, or both? Perspective on the lateralization of word retrieval. Annals of the New York Academy of Science, 2016, [Epub ahead of print]. 

Baldo, J. V., Arevalo, A., Patterson, J. P., & Dronkers, N. F. (in press). Grey and white matter correlates of picture naming: Evidence from a voxel-based lesion analysis of the Boston Naming Test. Cortex. 

Mandelli, M. L., Vitali, P., Santos, M., Henry, M., Gola, K., Rosenberg, L., Dronkers, N. F., Miller, B., Seeley, W. W. & Gorno-Tempini, M. L. Two insular regions are differentially involved in behavioral variant FTD and nonfluent/agrammatic variant PPA. Cortex, 2016, 74, 149-157. 

Baldo, J. V., Paulraj, S. R., Curran, B.C., & Dronkers, N. F. (2015). Impaired reasoning and problem-solving in individuals with language impairment due to aphasia or language delay Fronteirs in Psychology. Oct; 1523(6)

Baldo, Juliana V., Kacinik, Natalie A., Moncrief, Amber; Beghin, Francesca; Dronkers, Nina F. (2015).You may now kiss the bride: Interpretation of social situations by individuals with right or left hemisphere injury Neuropsychologia. In Press

• Thiebaut de Schotten, M., Dell’Acqua,F., Ratiu, P., Leslie, A., Howells, H., Cabanis, E., Iba-Zizen, M.T., Plaisant, O., Simmons, A., Dronkers, N.F., Corkin, S. & Catani, M. (2015) From Phineas Gage and Monsieur Leborgne to H.M.: Revisiting Disconnection Syndromes Cerebral Cortex 2015doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhv173.
• Buchsbaum B.R.,Baldo, J., Okada, K., Berman, K.F., Dronkers, N.F., D’Esposito, M., Hickok, G. Conduction aphasia, sensory-motor integration, and phonological short-termmemory – An aggregate analysis of lesion and fMRI data Brain and Language 2010, 105, 134-140.
• Agosta, F., Henry, R.G., Migliaccio,R., Neuhaus, J., Miller,B.L., Dronkers, N.F., Brambati, S.M., Filippi, M., Ogar, J.M., Wilson, S.M., Gorno-Tempini, M.L. Language networks in semantic dementia Brain 2010: 133; 286–299
• Wilson, S.M., Henry, M.L., Besbris, M., Ogar, J.M.,, Dronkers, N.F., Jarrold, W., Miller, B.L., Gorno-Tempini, M.L. Connected speech production in three variants of primary progressive aphasia, Brain 2010: 133; 2069–2088
• Vitali, P.,Dronkers, N., Pincherle, A., Giovagnoli, A.R., Marras, C., Ghielmetti, L.D.F., Spreafico, R., Villani, F. Accuracy of pre-surgical fMRI confirmed by subsequent crossed aphasia, Neurol Sci 2011: 32; 175–1
• Turken, A.U., Whitfield-Gabrieli, S., Bammer, R., Baldo, J.V., Dronkers, N.F., Gabrieli, J.D.E., Cognitive processing speed and the structure of white matterpathways: Convergent evidence from normal variation and lesion studies, NeuroImage 42 (2008) 1032–1044
• Rabinovici, G.D., Jagust W.J., Furst, A.J., Ogar, J.M.,Racine, C.A., Mormino, E.C., O’Neil, J.P., Lal, R.A.,Dronkers, N.F., Miller, B.L., Gorno-Tempini, M.L. A� amyloid and glucose metabolism in three variants of primary progressive aphasia, Annals of Neurology (2008)Volume 64, Issue 4, 388–401.
• Amici, S., Wilkins, D., Ogar, J., Dronkers, N.F., Miller, B.L., Brambati, S.M., & Gorno-Tempini, M.L. Anatomical Correlates of Sentence Comprehension and Verbal Working Memory in Neurodegenerative Disease, Journal of Neuroscience, 2007, 27(23):6282– 6290.
• Amici, S., Ogar, J., Brambati, S.M., Miller, B.L., Dronkers, N., Gorno-Tempini, M.L. Performance in Specific Language Tasks Correlates WithRegional Volume Changes in Progressive Aphasia. Cog Behav Neurol 2007;20:203–211
• Dronkers, N.F., Plaisant, O., Iba-Zizen, M.T. & Cabanis, E.A. Paul Broca’s historic cases: High resolution MR imaging of the brains of Leborgne and Lelong. Brain, 2007, 130, 1432-1441.
• Baldo, J., & Dronkers, N. Neural correlates of arithmetic and language comprehension: a common substrate? Neuropsychologia, 2007, 45, 229-235.
• Borovsky, A., Saygin, A.P., Bates E. & Dronkers, N.F. Lesion correlations of conversational speech production deficits, Neuropsychologia, 2007, 45(11), 2525-2533.
• Arevalo, A. L., Perani, D., Cappa, S.F., Butler, A., Bates, E., Dronkers, N.F. Action and object processing in aphasia: from nouns and verbs to the effect of manipulability. Brain and Language, 2007, 100(1), 79-94.
• Amici, S., Gorno-Tempini, M.L., Ogar, J.M., Dronkers, N.F., Miller, B.L. An overview on primary progressive aphasia and its variants. Behavioral Neurology, 2006; 17, 77-87.
• Amici, S., Gorno-Tempini, M.L., Ogar, J.M., Dronkers, N., Miller, B.L. Language and dementia: the “case” of Primary Progressive Aphasia. Behavioural Neurology, 2006; 17(2): 77-87.
• Rosen, H.J., Allison, S.C., Ogar, J.M., Amici, S., Rose, K., Dronkers, N.F., Miller, B.L., & Gorno-Tempini, M.L. Behavioral features in semantic dementia vs other forms of progressive aphasias. Neurology, 2006, 67, 1752-1756.
• Brambati, S.M., Meyers, D.M., Ogar, J.M., Dronkers, N., Miller, B.L., Gorno-Tempini, M.L. The anatomy of category-specific object naming in neurodegenerative diseases. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 2006 Oct;18(10):1644-53.
• Baldo, J., Schwartz, S., Wilkins, D., & Dronkers, N. Role of frontal versus temporal cortex in verbal fluency as revealed by voxel-based lesion symptom mapping. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 2006, 12, 896-900.
• Gorno-Tempini, M. L., Ogar, J., Brambati, S. M., Wang, P., Jeong, J. H., Rankin, K. P., Dronkers, N.F., and Miller, B.L. Anatomical correlates of early mutism in progressive nonfluent aphasia. Neurology, 2006; 67:1849-1851.
• Ogar, J., Willock, S., Baldo, J., Wilkins, D., Ludy, C., & Dronkers, N. Clinical and anatomical correlates of apraxia of speech and language. Brain and Language, 2006 97(3), pp 343-350.
• Baldo, J., & Dronkers, N. The role of inferior parietal and inferior frontal cortex in working memory. Neuropsychology, 2006, 20, 529-538.
• Ogar, J., Slama, H., Dronkers, N., Amici, S., Gorno-Tempini, M. Apraxia of speech: An overview. Neurocase, 2005, 11(6), 427-431.
• Moineau, S., Dronkers, N.F. & Bates., E.A. Exploring the processing continuum of single word comprehension in aphasia. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 2005, 48(4), 884-896.
• Dick, F., Dronkers, N., Pizzamiglio, L., Saygin, A.P., Small, S.L., & Wilson, S. Language and the Brain. In M. Tomasello & D.I. Slobin, (Eds.) Beyond Nature-Nurture: Essays in honor of Elizabeth Bates. New Jersey: Erlbaum, 2005, pgs. 237-260.
• Baldo, J.V., Dronkers, N.F., Wilkins, D.P., Ludy, C., Raskin, P., & Kim, J. Is problem solving dependent on language? Brain and Language, 2005, 92, 240-250.
• Dronkers, N.F., Wilkins, D., Van Valin, Redfern, B., & Jaeger, J. (2004). Lesion Analysis of the Brain Areas Involved in Language Comprehension. Cognition, 92, 145-177.
• Gorno-Tempini, M.L., Dronkers, N.F., Rankin, K.P., Ogar, J.M., Phenegrasamy, L., Rosen, H.J., Johnson, J.K., Weiner, M.W., Miller, B.L. (2004). Cognition and Anatomy in Three Variants of Primary Progressive Aphasia. Annals of Neurology, 55(3), 335-346.
• Bates, E., Wilson, S., Saygin, A., Dick, F., Sereno, M., Knight, R. T., & Dronkers, N. F. (2003). Voxel-based Lesion Symptom Mapping. Neuroscience, 6, 448-450.
• Saygin, A.P., Dick, F., Wilson, S., Dronkers, N.F. & Bates, E. (2003). Neural Resources for Processing Language and Environmental Sounds: Evidence from Aphasia. Brain, 126(4), 928-945.
• Watkins, K.E., Dronkers, N.F., Vargha-Khadem, F. (2002). Behavioral analysis of an inherited speech and language disorder: comparison with acquired aphasia. Brain, 125(3), 452-464.
• Walker-Batson, D., Curtis, S., Natarajan, R., Ford, J., Dronkers, N.F., Salmeron, E., Lai, J. & Unwin, D.H. (2001). A double-blind placebo-controlled study of the use of amphetamine in the treatment of aphasia. Stroke, 32(9), 2093-2098.
• Dronkers, N.F. & Larsen, J.L. (2001). Neuroanatomy of the classical syndromes of aphasia. In Boller, F. & Grafman, J. (Eds.) Handbook of Neuropsychology, 2nd edition, New York: Elsevier Science, 19-30.
• Dick, F., Bates, E., Wulfeck, B., Utman, J., Dronkers, N.F., & Gernsbacher, M. (2001). Language deficits, localization and grammar: Evidence for a distributive model of language breakdown in aphasics and normals. Psychological Review, 108(4), 759-788.
• Bates, E., Reilly, J., Wulfeck, B., Dronkers, N.F., Opie, M., Fenson, J., Kriz, S., Jeffries, R., Miller, L., & Herbst, K. (2001). Differential effects of unilateral lesions on language production in children and adults. Brain and Language, 79, 223-265.
• Dronkers, N.F. (2000). The gratuitous relationship between Broca’s aphasia and Broca’s area. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 30-31.
• Dronkers, N.F., Pinker, S. & Damasio, A. (2000). Language and the aphasias. In Kandel, E.R., Schwartz, J. & Jessell, T. (Eds.), Principles in Neural Science, 4th edition, New York: McGraw-Hill, pgs.1169-1187.
• Dronkers, N.F., Redfern, B.B. & Knight, R.T. (2000). The neural architecture of language disorders. In M.S. Gazzaniga (Ed.), The New Cognitive Neurosciences, Cambridge: The MIT Press, pgs. 949-958.
• Dronkers, N.F. (2000). The pursuit of brain-language relationships. Brain and Language, 71(1):59-61.
• Dronkers, N.F., Husted, D.A., Deutsch, G., Taylor, M.K., Saunders, G. & Merzenich, M.M. (1999). Lesion site as a predictor of improvement after Fast ForWord treatment in adult aphasic patients. Brain and Language, 69(3):450-452.
• Baldo, J. & Dronkers, N.F. (1999). Verbal and non-verbal short-term memory in patients with conduction aphasia and prefrontal cortex lesions. Brain and Language, 69(3), 475-478.
• Dronkers, N.F., Ludy, C.A. & Redfern, B.B. (1998). Pragmatics in the absence of verbal language: Descriptions of a severe aphasic and a linguistically feral adult. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 11:179-190.
• Dronkers, N.F., Redfern, B.B. & Ludy, C.A. (1998). Brain regions associated with conduction aphasia and echoic rehearsal. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 4:23-24.
• Dronkers, N.F. (1996). A new brain region for speech: The insula and articulatory planning. Nature, 384:159-161.
• Dronkers, N.F., Redfern B.B. & Ludy, C.A. (1995). Lesion localization in chronic Wernicke’s aphasia. Brain and Language, 51(1):62-65.
• Dronkers, N.F. & Redfern, B.B. (1995). Cerebral localization of naming deficits in aphasia. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 1(4):361.
• Dronkers, N.F., Wilkins, D.P., Van Valin, R.D. Jr., Redfern, B.B. & Jaeger, J.J. (1994). A reconsideration of the brain areas involved in the disruption of morphosyntactic comprehension. Brain and Language, 47(3), 461-463.
• Dronkers, N.F., Redfern, B. & Shapiro, J.K. (1993). Neuroanatomic correlates of production deficits in severe Broca’s aphasia. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 15(1), 59-60.
• Henik, A., Dronkers, N.F., Knight, R.T. & Osimani, A. (1993). Differential effects of semantic and identity priming in patients with left and right hemisphere lesions. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 5(1), 45-55.
• Wertz, R.T., Dronkers, N.F., Bernstein-Ellis, E.G., Sterling, L.R., Shubitowski, Y., Elman, R.J., Shenaut, G.K., Knight, R.T. & Deal, J.L. (1992). The potential of telephonic and television technology for appraising and diagnosing neurogenic communication disorders in remote settings. Aphasiology, 6:195-202.
• Dronkers, N.F., Shapiro, J.K., Redfern, B. & Knight, R.T. (1992). The role of Broca’s area in Broca’s aphasia. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 14(1):52-53.
• Dronkers, N.F., Elman, R.J., Shapiro, J.K. & Wertz, R.T. (1991). Phonologic priming in aphasic patients. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 13(1):47.
• Dronkers, N.F., Elman, R.J. & Wertz, R.T. (1990). Semantic picture-priming in aphasic patients. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 12(1):80.
• Wertz, R.T., Dronkers, N.F., Shenaut, G.K. & Knight R.T. (1990). Neurogenic communication disorders in remote settings. Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, 28(1):364-365.
• Dronkers, N.F. & Knight, R.F. (1989). Right-sided neglect in a left-hander: Evidence for reversed hemispheric specialization for attention capacity. Neuropsychologia, 27(5):729-736.
• Dronkers, N.F., Wertz, R.T. & McAleese, P.M. (1988). A comparison of aphasia and crossed aphasia. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 10(1):27.
• Dronkers, N.F., Shubitowski, Y. & Ober, B.A. (1987). Retrieval from semantic memory in aphasia. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 9:43.
• Hardyck, C., Dronkers, N.F., Chiarello, C. & Simpson, G. (1987). On preaching the commandments of proper research: A rejoinder. Brain and Cognition, 6:238-242.
• Friedland, R.P., Jagust, W.J., Ober, B.A., Dronkers, N.F., Koss, E., Simpson, G.V., Ellis, W.G. & Budinger, T.F. (1986). The pathophysiology of Pick’s disease: A comprehensive case study. Neurology, 36 (Suppl. 1), 268-269.
• Ober, B.A., Dronkers, N.F., Friedland, R.F., Koss, B. & Delis, D. (1986). Access of semantic knowledge in Alzheimer-type dementia. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 8(1):75-92.
• Hardyck, C., Dronkers, N.F., Chiarello, C. & Simpson, G. (1985). The ‘eyes’ have it: Exposure times and saccadic movements in visual half-field experiments. Brain and Cognition, 4(4):430-439.
• Hardyck, C., Chiarello, C., Dronkers, N.F. & Simpson, G.V. (1985). Orienting attention within visual fields: The limits of interhemispheric transfer. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 11(5):650-666.
• Chiarello, C., Dronkers, N.F. & Hardyck, C. (1984). Choosing sides: Some questions concerning the apparent instability of language lateralization in normal populations. Neuropsychologia, 22(3):363-373.
• Baldo, J. & Dronkers, N.F. Speech production, neural basis of. In J.D. Wright (Editor-in-Chief), International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, Elsevier, 2nd edition, in press.Dronkers, N.F. & Ogar, J. Aphasia. In M.J. Aminoff and R.B. Daroff (Eds.), Encyclopedia of the Neurological Sciences, 2nd edition, Elsevier, 2014, 244–247.Baldo, J.V., Wilson, S.M. & Dronkers, N.F. Uncovering the neural substrate of language: A voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping approach. In M. Faust, (Ed.), Handbook of the Neuropsychology of Language, vol. 1&2, Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012, 582-594.Dronkers, N.F. & Baldo, J.V. Broca’s area. In P.C. Hogan (Ed.), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Language Sciences, Cambridge University Press, 2010, 139-142.Dronkers, N.F. & Ogar, J. Aphasia. In P.C. Hogan (Ed.), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Language Sciences, Cambridge University Press, 2010, 103-105.Dronkers, N.F. & Baldo, J.V. Language: Aphasia. In L.R. Squire (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Neuroscience. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2009, vol. 5: 343-348.Dick, F., Dronkers, N., Pizzamiglio, L., Saygin, A.P., Small, S.L., & Wilson, S. Language and the brain. In M. Tomasello &D.I. Slobin, (Eds.) Beyond Nature-Nurture: Essays in honor of Elizabeth Bates. New Jersey: Erlbaum, 2005, pgs. 237-260.Wertz, R.T., Dronkers N.F. & Ogar, J. Aphasia: The classical syndromes. In R.D. Kent (Ed.), MIT Encyclopedia of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Cambridge: MIT Press, 2003, 249-252.Dronkers, N.F. & Ogar, J. Aphasia. In M.J. Aminoff and R.B. Daroff (Eds.), Encyclopedia of the Neurological Sciences, San Diego, California: Academic Press, 2003.Dronkers, N.F. & Berndt, R. Aphasia. In W.J. Frawley (Ed.) Oxford International Encyclopedia of Linguistics, Oxford University Press, 2003.Dronkers, N.F. & Baldo, J. Speech production, neural basis of. In N.J. Smelser and P.B. Baltes (Eds.), R.F. Thompson and J.L. McClelland (Section Eds.) International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, Elsevier, 2001, pgs. 14875-14879.Dronkers, N.F. & Larsen, J.L. Neuroanatomy of the classical syndromes of aphasia. In Boller, F. & Grafman, J. (Eds.) Handbook of Neuropsychology, 2nd edition, New York: Elsevier Science, 2001, 19-30.Dronkers, N.F., Pinker, S. & Damasio, A. Language and the aphasias. In Kandel, E.R., Schwartz, J. & Jessell, T. (Eds.), Principles in Neural Science, 4th edition, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000, pgs. 1169-1187.Dronkers, N.F., Redfern, B.B. & Knight , R.T. The neural architecture of language disorders. In M.S. Gazzaniga (Ed.), The New Cognitive Neurosciences, Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2000, 949-958.Dronkers, N.F. The neural basis of language. In R. Wilson & F. Keil (Eds.), The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1999, 448-451.Dronkers, N.F., Ludy, C.A. & Redfern, B.B. Pragmatics in the absence of verbal language: Descriptions of a severe aphasic and a linguistically feral adult. In Paradis, M. (Ed.), Pragmatics in Neurogenic Communication Disorders, Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1998, 179-190.Dronkers, N.F. & Ludy, C.A. Brain lesion analysis in clinical research. In Stemmerer, B. and Whitaker, H. (Eds.) Handbook of Neurolinguistics, San Diego: Singular Press, 1997, 173-187.Dronkers, N.F., Yamasaki, Y., Ross, G.W. & White, L. Assessment of bilinguality in aphasia: Issues and examples from multicultural Hawai’i. In Paradis, M. (Ed.), Aspects of Bilingual Aphasia, Pergamon Press, 1995, 57-65.