Chapter 3 - Language and the Brain

Question 1

Neurolinguistis

Answer 1

Scientists who study how the physical brain relates to language behaviour

Question 2

Cerebral cortex

Answer 2

The outer covering of the brain’s cerebral hemisphere

Question 3

Aphasia

Answer 3

Any language disruption caused by brain damage

Question 4

Broca’s aphasia

Answer 4

Aphasia characterized by halting speech and tremendous difficulty in
choosing words but fairly good speech comprehension. Also called motor aphasia or
expressive aphasia

Question 5

Wernicke’s aphasia

Answer 5

Aphasia associated with fluent speech that is well articulated but often
nonsensical, and enormous difficulty in understanding
language. Also called sensory aphasia or receptive aphasia

Question 6

Brodmann areas

Answer 6

Areas of the human cerebral cortex that are distinct from each other anatomically and in cellular composition, as determined by Brodmann

Question 7

Subcortial

Answer 7

Refers to the internal cerebral hemispheres, those lying beneath the cerebral cortex

Question 8

Voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM)

Answer 8

A statistical technique in which individual
points in a three-dimensional brain scan image that show evidence of brain damage are
correlated with diminished performance on a behavioral test administered to participants
undergoing the brain scans. -> VSLM makes it possible for researchers to study a large
number of people affected by brain damage in a grab-bag of different areas, whether the
damage is minimal or massive, to assess the role of specific brain areas

Question 9

Brain lateralisation

Answer 9

The specialisation of the brain’s right and left cerebral hemisphere for different functions

Question 10

Corpus callosum

Answer 10

A bundle of neural fibers that connects and transfers information between the two hemispheres of the brain

Question 11

Dichotic listening

Answer 11

Experimental task in which subjects listen to spoken words over headphones, with a different word spoken into each ear

Question 12

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Answer 12

Neuroimaging technique that uses magnetic fields to measure hemodynamic changes in the brain while the brain is engaged in a task, on the assumption that such changes are a measure of brain activity

Question 13

Hemodynamic changes

Answer 13

Changes in blood oxygen levels and direction of blood flow

Question 14

Positron emission tomography (PET)

Answer 14

Neuroimaging technique that uses radioactivity to

measure hemodynamic change

Question 15

Double dissociation

Answer 15

Neuropsychological evidence for the independence of two mental
processes; it comes from observing cases where the first process is impaired but the second is spared, and conversely, where the second process is impaired but the first is spared

Question 16

Declarative memory

Answer 16

Memory for facts and events (whether real or fictional) that can be
spoken of (“declared”)

Question 17

Procedural memory

Answer 17

Memory for actions and sequences of actions

Question 18

Ventral stream theoretical

Answer 18

‘knowledge stream’ of ventral neural connections (i.e., located in the lower portion of the brain) that process knowledge about ‘what’

Question 19

Dorsal stream theoretical

Answer 19

‘knowledge stream’ of dorsal neural
connections (i.e., located in the upper portion of the brain) that
process knowledge about ‘how’

Question 20

White matter

Answer 20

Bundles of neural tissue (axons) that act as the brain’s information network,
allowing products (signaling molecules) from one processing area to be shuttled to another
area for further processing

Question 21

Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI)

Answer 21

Neuroimaging technique that tracks how water molecules are diffused in the brain, providing a view of the brain’s ‘white matter highway’

Question 22

Paralinguistic use

Answer 22

The use or manipulation of sounds for emphasis, clarification of meaning, or emotional colour, but not as an element in the composition of words or sentences

Question 23

Ions

Answer 23

Electrically charged particles; the charge can be positive or negative. Ions that are
especially important in neural signaling include sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), calcium
(Ca2+), and chloride (Cl–)

Question 24

Dendrites

Answer 24

Neuronal extensions that receive informational “input” from other neurons.

Question 25

Axon

Answer 25

Extension of a nerve cell (neuron) along which informational “output” travels to another neuron

Question 26

Synapse

Answer 26

Site of connection between the axon terminal of a neuron and the receptors of
another neuron or a muscle cell

Question 27

Action potential

Answer 27

An electrical pulse that travels down the axon of a neuron to a synapse,
resulting in the release of neurotransmitters

Question 28

Neurotransmitter

Answer 28

Molecules produced by a neuron and released across a synapse in response to an action potential. Neurotransmitters bind to receptors on a receiving cell (another neuron or a muscle cell), producing a response in the second cell.

Question 29

Postsynaptic potentials

Answer 29

Temporary changes in the electric voltage of neurons that result from the release of a neurotransmitter

Question 30

Electroencephalography (EEG)

Answer 30

The use of electrodes placed on the scalp to measure
changes in electrical voltage over large numbers of neurons in the brain, thus obtaining
information about the timing of responses in the brain

Question 31

Magnetoencephalography (MEG)

Answer 31

A technique related to electroencephalography that

detects changes in magnetic fields caused by the brain’s electrical activity

Question 32

Event-related potential (ERP)

Answer 32

he change in electrical voltage (the potential) over large numbers of brain neurons, measured with EEG and lined up with the presentation of a
relevant stimulus (the event)

Question 33

N400

Answer 33

An ERP in which a waveform shows a negative voltage peak about 400ms

Question 34

P600

Answer 34

An ERP effect in which a waveform show a positive voltage peak about 600ms

Question 35

Amusia

Answer 35

Loss of the capacity to make sense of music (but not of language)

Question 36

Auditory verbal agnosia

Answer 36

“Pure word deafness,” a condition in which people hear speech as
meaningless or garbled sound but usually can speak, read, or write without any trouble;
their ability to process non-speech sounds, including music, seems to be mostly intact.