7: The Speaking Brain 1

Question 1

What does a common language signify about human perception?

Answer 1

We all have a common representation of the world around us

Question 2

Example of animals using langauge?

Answer 2

Washoe - ape who learnt 200 manual signs
Koko - 1000 signs which she could combine in complex ways
Kanzi - learnt arbitrary lexigrams flexibly

Question 3

What were some of the limitations of Washoe the ape’s language?

Answer 3

evidence of overgeneralization - eg hurt for tattoo
combined words for unfamiliar objects - eg water bird for duck)
researchers were very attached to these apes so they could’ve been too optimistic about their communication
signs are quite obvious, actions you might make anyway, unlike words which are arbitrary

Question 4

What were the limitations of Kanzi the ape’s language?

Answer 4

arbitrary language linked to food, not communication in general

Question 5

define: syntax

Answer 5

the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.

Question 6

What distinguishes syntax from language?

Answer 6

Syntax is using language correctly, but to really use language you must understand the semantics (meaning) and thought content

Question 7

Which study shows that syntax doesn’t equate to semantics

Answer 7

Chinese room experiment

Question 8

What is the semantic memory?

Answer 8

conceptual knowledge of the world

Question 9

where is the neural base of the semantic memory?

Answer 9

temporal lobes

Question 10

What were the ERP results for a semantically correct vs incorrect word in a sentence?

Answer 10

correct = no peak/result
incorrect = N400 peak

Question 11

At what age is the N400 peak present?

Answer 11

yes, it is present from 9 months

Question 12

What is the N400 peak used to investigate?

Answer 12

semantic representations in the brain

Question 13

define: concepts

Answer 13

cognitive constructions that represent classes of things, events or ideas

Question 14

How are concepts organised in the brain?

Answer 14

In a network by similarity/relation

Question 15

How is the N400 peak used to measure spreading activation?

Answer 15

N400 peak most pronounced for unrelated concepts, then related, and not there for expected

Question 16

What is the amodal model of semantic memory?

Answer 16

features are represented as an abstract knowledge
not tied to sensory or motor output
they are independent of input or output modality

Question 17

why was the semantic memory thought of as amodal?

Answer 17

because it can be accessed from so many different sensory inputs (spoken, written etc) so there must be an asensory component linking all these representations

Question 18

Problems with the amodal model

Answer 18

symbol grounding problem - if each word needs to be defined by other concepts, definitions become very complicated, how would you start to learn any concepts?

Question 19

solution to the symbolic grounding issue

Answer 19

grounded concepts/features - concepts are not defined in terms of each other, but in terms of our experiences and interactions with the world

Question 20

What is Allport’s model of semantic memory

Answer 20

concepts are distributed over several distinct brain areas (eg phone = motor, auditory, visual)

Question 21

What area of the brain is used in category-related activity?

Answer 21

ventral occipito-temporal cortex
occipital = visual info
temporal = semantics

Question 22

What were MRIs of naming vs viewing vs answering questions on animals like?

Answer 22

similar activity in the same area for every mode

Question 23

What are category specific deficits?

Answer 23

patients with brain damage who can’t name specific types of things (eg can’t name animals but can name fruits)

Question 24

What is the emergent theory of category specificity?

Answer 24

Different categories rely on different types of characteristics (eg animals are categorised by looks (sensory areas) & tools are categorised by function (motor areas))

Question 25

What is the innate theory of category specificity?

Answer 25

the brain is built ready for these concepts, not with these concepts

Question 26

How does congenital blindness provide evidence for innate category specificity?

Answer 26

blind people still have similar activations to seeing people (even in the visual areas)

Question 27

What does Adam’s (Farah & Rabinowitz, 2003) case study on brain injury on day 1 show?

Answer 27

Selective impairment of knowledge of living things in later life - shows an innate distinction between living & non-living concepts in the brain

Question 28

What are the 2 models of how features are organised in the brain?

Answer 28

hierarchical vs non-hierarchical

Question 29

What are the 2 theorised formats concepts take in the brain?

Answer 29

Modal (grounded) vs amodal

Question 30

What are the 2 category specificity theories

Answer 30

Emergent or innate

Question 31

what does the N400 peak in 9 month-olds tell us about their language development?

Answer 31

Infants understand the meaning of some words

Question 32

what modulates the N400 peak for language?

Answer 32

N400 was modulated by the semantic connection between the expected and presented word
Semantically related words elicited smaller N400 compared to semantically unrelated words

Question 33

what is an example of an amodal model of semantic memory?

Answer 33

hierarchical model

Question 34

define: grounded cognition

Answer 34

Object representations are not limited to a discrete area, but rather are widespread and overlapping

Question 35

how do category specific deficits evidence the innate nature of categories in the brain?

Answer 35

When brain damage patients lose a specific area of knowledge (eg naming animals) it suggests there are hardwired areas for these concepts

Question 36

are category specific deficits amodal?

Answer 36

yes - someone won’t understand hearing/ reading/ seeing an image of a lion

Question 37

what is the criticism of congenital blindness as evidence for innate category specificity in the brain?

Answer 37

blind people can still learn about shape by tough and moving through things so it’s not as if they have no representation for the shape of objects