Chapter 3 - Language and the Brain Flashcards
Neurolinguistis
Scientists who study how the physical brain relates to language behaviour
Cerebral cortex
The outer covering of the brain’s cerebral hemisphere
Aphasia
Any language disruption caused by brain damage
Broca’s aphasia
Aphasia characterized by halting speech and tremendous difficulty in
choosing words but fairly good speech comprehension. Also called motor aphasia or
expressive aphasia
Wernicke’s aphasia
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
Brodmann areas
Areas of the human cerebral cortex that are distinct from each other anatomically and in cellular composition, as determined by Brodmann
Subcortial
Refers to the internal cerebral hemispheres, those lying beneath the cerebral cortex
Voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM)
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
Brain lateralisation
The specialisation of the brain’s right and left cerebral hemisphere for different functions
Corpus callosum
A bundle of neural fibers that connects and transfers information between the two hemispheres of the brain
Dichotic listening
Experimental task in which subjects listen to spoken words over headphones, with a different word spoken into each ear
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
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
Hemodynamic changes
Changes in blood oxygen levels and direction of blood flow
Positron emission tomography (PET)
Neuroimaging technique that uses radioactivity to
measure hemodynamic change
Double dissociation
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
Declarative memory
Memory for facts and events (whether real or fictional) that can be spoken of (“declared”)
Procedural memory
Memory for actions and sequences of actions
Ventral stream theoretical
‘knowledge stream’ of ventral neural connections (i.e., located in the lower portion of the brain) that process knowledge about ‘what’
Dorsal stream theoretical
‘knowledge stream’ of dorsal neural
connections (i.e., located in the upper portion of the brain) that
process knowledge about ‘how’
White matter
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
Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI)
Neuroimaging technique that tracks how water molecules are diffused in the brain, providing a view of the brain’s ‘white matter highway’
Paralinguistic use
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
Ions
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–)
Dendrites
Neuronal extensions that receive informational “input” from other neurons.
Axon
Extension of a nerve cell (neuron) along which informational “output” travels to another neuron
Synapse
Site of connection between the axon terminal of a neuron and the receptors of
another neuron or a muscle cell
Action potential
An electrical pulse that travels down the axon of a neuron to a synapse,
resulting in the release of neurotransmitters
Neurotransmitter
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.
Postsynaptic potentials
Temporary changes in the electric voltage of neurons that result from the release of a neurotransmitter
Electroencephalography (EEG)
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
Magnetoencephalography (MEG)
A technique related to electroencephalography that
detects changes in magnetic fields caused by the brain’s electrical activity
Event-related potential (ERP)
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)
N400
An ERP in which a waveform shows a negative voltage peak about 400ms
P600
An ERP effect in which a waveform show a positive voltage peak about 600ms
Amusia
Loss of the capacity to make sense of music (but not of language)
Auditory verbal agnosia
“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.
