Chapter 3 Flashcards
Who studies the structures and functions of the nervous system that relate to language?
Neurolinguists
What is synaptogenesis?
The creation of a synapse
What composes gray matter?
Cell bodies and dendrites
What composes white matter?
Axonal fibers that are myelinated
What are the three meninges?
Dura mater, arachnoid mater, and pia mater
What are the protective features of the brain?
The skull, the meningeal envelope, and cerebrospinal fluid
What is the function of CSF?
CSF carries chemicals important to metabolic processes and protects the CNS (buffer against jolts)
What are the seven cranial nerves closely associated with speech and language?
V, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII
What do spinal nerves do?
They mediate reflexes, sensory activity, and conscious motor activity
What is the function of the frontal lobe?
Activating and controlling fine and complex motor movement and executive functions (higher order cognitive abilities)
What is the function of the primary motor cortex?
Initiation of skilled voluntary movements
What is the function of Broca’s area?
Speech production
What is the function of the occipital lobe?
Visual reception and processing
What is the function of the parietal lobes?
Perceiving and integrating sensory and perceptual information, comprehending oral and written language, and performing mathematical calculations
What is the function of the primary somatosensory cortex?
It receives and processes pain, temperature, touch, pressure, and movement from receptors throughout the body, and is important to working memory
What is the function of the temporal lobes?
Control of auditory processing and langauge comprehension
Define word deafness
Intact processing of nonword auditory stimuli but no understanding of spoken words
What is the function of Wernicke’s area?
Speech comprehension
What is the function of the brainstem?
- Transmits sensory information to the brain and motor information away from it
- It’s a relay station for cranial nerves and for controlling vision and audition
- Associated with metabolism and arousal
What are the three major reflex centers of the brainstem?
- Cardiac center (controls the heart)
- Vasomotor center (controls the blood vessels)
- Respiratory center (controls breathing
What is the function of the cerebellum?
Regulation of motor and muscular activity, balance, posture, coordination (involuntary)
What do connectionist models do?
Attempt to represent the computational architecture of the brain as it processes information
Where is semantics processed in the brain?
Frontal lobe: word storage and knowledge
Temporal lobe: word storage and organization of semantic memories and categories
Where is pragmatics processed in the brain?
Primarily in the frontal lobe
What is willful attention?
Maintaining attention to a given task when competing stimuli are present
What is a sensitive period?
A time frame of development during which a particular aspect of neuroanatomy or neurophysiology underlying a capacity undergoes growth or change
What are the three features of a sensitive period?
- Corresponds to a time of active change
- Is a time of opportunity but also of risk
- Has a beginning and end point
What does neural plasticity refer to?
The malleability of the CNS
What is experience-expectant plasticity?
The ongoing sculpting of brain structures that occur as a result of normal experiences
What is experience-dependent plasticity?
The unique personal experiences that change an individual (highly specific experiences)
What is linguistic isolation?
When a child develops with little or no exposure to a spoken or signed language
What is language instinct?
An individual’s ability to rapidly and automatically process the rules of syntax and morphology
