Chapter 20: Language

Question 1

Language is universal in () (no mute tribe has ever been found)

Answer 1

human society

Question 2

The universality of language suggests that the human brain has evolved special ().

Answer 2

language-processing systems

Question 3

before the rise of brain imaging techniques, most knowledge on brain mechanisms of language was obtained from ()

Answer 3

brain-damage patients

Question 4

What is Language

A system for representing and communicating
(1); uses words combined according to (2)

Answer 4

1. information
2. grammatical rules (Chomsky: universal grammar)

Question 5

An audible form of communication built on the sounds
humans produce

Answer 5

speech

Question 6

features of human language

Answer 6

1. discreteness
2. productivity
3. grammar
4. displacement
5. modality independent

Question 7

(): Linguistic representations can be broken down into small discrete units (e.g., sentences are built up of discrete words).

Answer 7

Discreteness

Question 8

(): we are able to produce an infinite number of ideas using a limited set of words.

Answer 8

productivity

Question 9

Grammar: Languages employ (1) categories, such as noun and verb, present and past, which may be used to express exceedingly complex meanings; (): a clause can contain another clause (as in “[I see [the dog is running]]”)

Answer 9

1. grammatical and semantic
2. recursivity

Question 10

(): humans can talk about things that are not physically present or that do not even exist.

Answer 10

Displacement

Question 11

Modality independent: ()

Answer 11

spoken language, writing, braille

Question 12

a set of features that characterize human language and set it apart from animal communication

Answer 12

Hockett’s design features

Question 13

Hockett’s Design Features

(): while humans are born with innate language capabilities, language is more learned after birth through a social setting.

Answer 13

Traditional (cultural) transmission

Question 14

explain the idea that speech comes naturally to humans

Answer 14

a child picks up spoken language from his environment even without formal training

Question 15

Human Language:

• Complex, flexible, powerful (1) for communication
• Creative use of words according to (2)

Answer 15

1. system
2. rules

Question 16

Speech and language disorders run in (1), more likely to co-occur in (2)

Answer 16

1. families
2. identical twins

Question 17

inability to produce clear speech

Answer 17

verbal dyspraxia

Question 18

Study of KE family (verbal dyspraxia)

• found that affected famly members had (1) mutation
• affected development of structures like: (2)
• also had deficits in (3)

Answer 18

1. FOXP2 (transcription factor) single mutation
2. motor cortex, cerebellum, striatum
3. grammatical skills and muscular control of lower face

Question 19

() strongly expressed in brain areas involved in song learning in birds; A small and relatively recent mutation in the gene may have set humans on a path toward developing language that was needed for higher cognitive function and the development of human culture

Answer 19

FOXP2

Question 20

Developmental delay in mastery of language,
especially verbs; not associated with hearing difficulty or more general developmental delays

Answer 20

specific language impairment (SLI)

Question 21

aside from FOXP2, mutations in () are also thought to be involved in SLI

Answer 21

CNTNAP2, KIAA0319

Question 22

() codes a neurexin protein; plays an important role in brain development

neurexin - proteins on presynaptic terminals; serve to hold presynaptic and postsynaptic elements together

Answer 22

CNTNAP2

Question 23

() is thought to be critical for neuronal migration during neocortical development as well as for normal function of adult neurons

Answer 23

KIAA0319

Question 24

() - trouble with reading despite normal intelligence; appears to have strong genetic link; 5-10% of population; 40-50% comorbidity with SLI

Answer 24

Dyslexia

Question 25

Partial/complete loss of language abilities following brain damage; often without the loss of cognitive faculties or ability to move speech muscles

Answer 25

aphasia

Question 26

Greek/Roman Empires: () thought to control speech

Answer 26

tongue

Question 27

(): region of dominant left frontal lobe, articulate speech

Answer 27

Broca’s area

Question 28

(): superior surface of temporal lobe between auditory cortex and angular gyrus, lesions disrupt normal speech; proposed a language processing map

Answer 28

Wernicke’s area

Question 29

Used to determine hemisphere dominant for speech; anesthetizing only 1 hemisphere

Answer 29

Wada procedure ## Footnote anesthesia to left hemisphere (not right) always led to speech impairment

Question 30

Distinct types of aphasia suggest language is processed in ()

Answer 30

several stages at different brain areas

Question 31

(): Damage in motor association cortex of frontal lobe; comprehension generally good, but trouble in understanding complex sentences

Answer 31

Broca's Aphasia

Question 32

inability to find words (need to pause to find right word)

Answer 32

anomia

Question 33

# explanation of Broca's aphasia symtoms Wernicke: Broca’s area contains (); makes sense considering Broca’s area is near the part of the motor cortex controlling the mouth and lips.

Answer 33

memories for the fine series of motor commands required for articulating word sounds

Question 34

describe "telegraphic style" of speech

Answer 34

mostly content words, no function words -> only nounds and verbs

Question 35

# explanation of Broca's aphasia symtoms Alternative: Broca’s area may be specifically involved in making (); makes sense considering the difference in the aphasic’s ability to use content words and function words

Answer 35

grammatical sentences out of words

Question 36

(): Posterior temporal lobe damage; fluent speech but poor comprehension

Answer 36

Wernicke's aphasia

Question 37

# explanation of Wernicke's aphasia symptoms Wernicke's area is located near A1; may () -> in Wernicke's aphasia, speech production system may operate without control over content

Answer 37

relate incoming sounds to their meaning (storing memories of sounds that make up words).

Question 38

components of the Wernicke-Geschwind Model ## Footnote model for language processing in the brain; offers simple explanations for key elements of Broca's nd Wernicke's aphasias

Answer 38

1. Broca's Area 2. Wernicke's Area 3. arcuate fasciculus 4. angular gyrus

Question 39

# Wernicke-Geschwind Model W -> B connection

Answer 39

arcuate fasciculus

Question 40

# Wernicke-Geschwind Model visual to auditory transformation

Answer 40

angular gyrus

Question 41

- Numerous more elaborate language models have been proposed - Current models of language processing emphasize multiple streams of processing

Answer 41

parallel language pathways

Question 42

(): Disconnection lesion of arcuate fasciculus and parietal cortex; difficulty repeating words but comprehesion and speech are good

Answer 42

conduction aphasia

Question 43

inequal effects of aphasia in bilinguals (varying fluency in L1 vs L2) implies:

Answer 43

L2 uses different, although overlapping neuron populations used by L1

Question 44

in split brain studies, behavior (1) but animals acted as if (2)

Answer 44

1. largely unchanged 2. had 2 brains

Question 45

effects of aphasia in deaf ppl/ppl who can use sign language imply:

Answer 45

some universality to language processing in the brain

Question 46

because it didn't seem to be important, surgeons felt they were justified in cutting the corpus callosum as a last resort in treating ()

Answer 46

epilepsy

Question 47

Gazzaniga's exp: Brief stimuli delivered only to ()

Answer 47

one hemisphere.

Question 48

if the left hemisphere is dominant for language, the right hemisphere is better at ()

Answer 48

spatial perception and emotional content of speech

Question 49

# Bradshaw & Nettleton (1981) – (1) hemisphere: sequential, analytic, and time dependent. – (2) hemisphere: synthetic and holistic.

Answer 49

1. Left 2. Right

Question 50

# left vs right hemispheres Instead of breakdown by type of task (verbal vs. spatial), may be better categorized as () (LH: analytic skills, with language just an example; RH: synthetic processing, so better at visuospatial tasks).

Answer 50

different ways of dealing with the information

Question 51

most significant example of anatomical asymmetry between the 2 hemispheres; (part of Wernicke’s area) larger than right in 65% cases (the opposite cases: 10%) ## Footnote found in human fetus and apes

Answer 51

planum temporale

Question 52

(): the best predictor for language-dominant hemisphere

Answer 52

Insula

Question 53

recent techniques for language studies (neurosci)

Answer 53

study language function in living humans with electrical brain stimulation and PET scans

Question 54

Three main effects of brain stimulation on language

Answer 54

Vocalizations, speech arrest, speech difficulties similar to aphasia

Question 55

brain stimulation in (): immediate speech arrest (occasionally vocalization)

Answer 55

motor cortex

Question 56

brain stimulation in (): speech arrest from strong stimulation, speech hesitation from weak stimulation

Answer 56

Broca's area

Question 57

brain stimulation in (): word confusion and speech arrest

Answer 57

posterior parietal lobe near Sylvian fissure and in temporal lobe (vicinity of Wernicke’s area and arcuate fasciculus)

Question 58

in brain stimulation language studies, areas affecting speech roughly correspond to ()

Answer 58

aphasia-related areas

Question 59

Ojemann studies found that ()

Answer 59

stimulation effects can sometimes be quite specific ## Footnote stimulation of different small cortical areas affect different aspects of language: naming, reading, repeating facial movements