Chapter 15: language and lateralization Flashcards
communication
the transmission of information between individuals
grammar
rules for usage of a particular language
corpus callosum
the main bond of axons that connects the two cerebral hemispheres
split brain individuals
an individual whose corpus callosum has been severed, halting communication between the right and left hemisphere
planum temporale
an auditory region of superior temporal cortex
prosody
the perception of emotional tone-of-voice aspects of language (right hemisphere)
wada test
a test in which a short-lasting anesthetic is delivered into one carotid artery to determine the processing specializations of that hemisphere, such as language
astereognosis
the inability to recognize objects by touching and feeling them
prosopagnosia
(face blindness) a condition characterized by the inability to recognize faces
fusiform gyrus
associated with recognition of faces
agnosia
inability to identify individual items
phonemes
a sound that is produces for language
morphemes
the smallest grammatical unit of a language; a word or meaningful part of a word
syntax
the grammatical rules for constructing phrases and sentences in language
pragmatics
context in which a speech sound is uttered
aphasia
impairment in language understanding and/or production that is caused by brain injury
Brocas area
a region of the frontal lobe of the brain that is involved in the production of speech
Broca’s aphasia
language impairment characterized by difficult with speech production but not with language comprehension
Wernicke’s area
region of temporietal cortex in the brain that is involved in the perception and production of speech
Wernickes aphasia
language impairment characterized by fluent, meaningless speech and little language comprehension
global aphasia
total loss of ability to understand language, or to speak, read, or write
connectionist model of aphasia
argues that language deficits result from disconnection between the brain regions in a language network
arcuate fasciculus
fiber tract that connects Wernickes speech area and Broca’s speech area
conduction aphasia
an impairment in the ability to repeat words and sentences
the motor theory of language
the theory that speech is perceived using the same left hemisphere mechanisms that are used to produce the complex movements that go into speech
williams syndrome
caused by the deletion of 28 genes from chromosome 7, impairments of spatial cognition and IQ but superior linguistic abilities
transcranial magnetic stimulation
used to stimulate a lesion by disrupting neural activity for up to an hour
dyslexia
a reading disorder in cortical neurons
deep dyslexia
acquired dyslexia in which the person reads a word as another word that is semantically related
surface dyslexia
acquired dyslexia in which the person seems to attend only to the fine details of reading
recovery of function
the recovery of behavioral capacity following brain damage from stroke or injury
embryonic stem cells
a cell derived from an embryo that has the capacity to form any type of tissue
constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT)
a therapy for recovery of movement after stroke or injury in which the persons unaffected limb is constrained while they are required to perform tasks with the affected limb
concussion
a form of closed head injury caused by a jarring blow to the head, resulting in damage to the tissue of the brain with short or long-term consequences for cognitive function
chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)
a form of dementia that may develop following multiple concessions, such as in athletes engaged in contact sports
language
highly specialized communication based on assembly of arbitrary symbols to convey a vast range of things, actions, and concepts
spatial cognition
our ability to navigate and understand spatial relationships between objects
astereognosis
inability to name an object by feel
Nonverbal visual stimuli, such as faces or shapes, are recognized more accurately if they are presented to the
left visual field
Which region of cortex is crucial for face recognition?
Fusiform gyrus
Prosopagnosia is the inability to
recognize faces.
A patient who has difficulty speaking but has good comprehension of verbal material is most likely suffering from _______ aphasia.
Broca’s
Damage to the _______, which transmits information between Wernicke’s area and Broca’s area leads to _______ aphasia.
arcuate fasciculus; conduction
The sounds that make up a language are called _______, and the system of rules for producing sentences is called _______.
phonemes; grammar
Unusual groupings of cells in the outer layers of the cerebral cortex have been seen in postmortem studies of
dyslexia
In boxers, the devastating effects of repeated blows to the head are evident in the development of a progressive cognitive impairment called
chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
The goal of constraint-induced movement therapy is to encourage stroke patients to use the afflicted arm by _______ the unaffected arm.
restraining
