Exam 4 - Lateralization, Language, and the Split Brain Flashcards
Language
System of words, word meanings, and rules for combining words into phrases and sentences
What are the 3 functions of language?
- communication of ideas
- facilitate the thinking process
- enables us to write down our experiences and ideas
What are the 4 structural units of language?
- phoneme
- morpheme
- phrase
- sentence
Phoneme
simplest functional speech sound (English has 45 of these)
Morpheme
smallest meaningful unit of language (words, prefixes, suffixes)
Phrase
group of two or more related words that, when combined, express a single thought
Sentence
group of two or more phrases that convey an assertion, question, command, wish, or exclamation
What are the two rules of language use?
phonology and syntax
Phonology
study of the sound system of a language that prescribes how phonemes can be combined into morphemes
Syntax
system of rules for combining words into meaningful phrases and sentences
Semantics
linguistic analysis of the meaning of language
- a sentence contains a “doer” and a “done to”
What was Noam Chomsky’s theory of human language acquisition?
instinctive, the universal sequence of language develops from nonsense sounds to the generation of complex sentences
What is the language acquisition device?
part of Noam Chomsky’s theory, a language generating mechanism that children are born with
What was the first model of language?
The Wernicke-Geschwind model of Language
What is the Wernicke-Geschwind model of Language?
- comprehension of language is the function of the Wernicke’s area
- once meaning is understood, Wernicke’s area generates a representation of a verbal response, which is transferred to the arcuate fasciculus, which generates speech production
What is the arcuate fasciculus?
bundle of fibers that connect Wernicke’s area and Broca’s area
What is the first system of the current model of language?
Language implementation system - includes Broca’s, Wernicke’s, and the insular cortex. Analyzes incoming auditory signals and ensures that outgoing responses are grammatical and well articulated.
What is the second system of the current model of language?
Mediational system - surrounds the implementation system and includes regions in the temporal, parietal, and frontal association areas. Acts as a go-between for the implementation system and the conceptional system
What is the third system of the current model of language?
Conceptional system - includes regions in the higher-order association cortices, and is involved in conceptual knowledge like learning and memory
Hemispheric lateralization
differentiation of functions between the right and left sides of the brain (ex: language is L hemisphere dominant)
What are the two hemispheres connected by?
the corpus callosum
Explain Roger Sperry’s study
- severed the cerebral commissures, corpus callosum, and the optic chiasm in cats
- put a patch on one eye, had them learn one task, and then switched eyes, and found that the cats had to relearn the task
- cats showed no evidence that info stored in one hemisphere was available to the other
- behaviors learned by one hemisphere could not be performed by the other hemisphere
What is the left hemisphere in control of?
language and analytical functions, and right handedness