File 9.0-9.2: Psycholinguistics (F)

Question 1

psycholinguistics

Answer 1

the study of the acquisition, storage, comprehension, and production of language.

Question 2

neurolinguistics

Answer 2

The study of language and the physical brain.

Question 3

The 5 lobes

Answer 3

Temporal lobe, frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, cerebellum

Question 4

Temporal lobe

Answer 4

Is associated with perception and recognition of auditory stimuli.

Question 5

frontal lobe

Answer 5

Higher thinking and language production

Question 6

occipital lobe

Answer 6

Many aspects of vision

Question 7

parietal lobe

Answer 7

Least involved with language perception and production.

Question 8

Corpus callosum

Answer 8

the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them

Question 9

cortex

Answer 9

A membrane covering the brain, it is thought that the cortex makes humans able to use language or math.

Question 10

Where are the language centers contained?

Answer 10

Most are contained in the cortex

Question 11

What are the different language regions?

Answer 11

• Inferior frontal gyrus (IFG)
• Superior temporal gyrus (STG)
• Sylvian parietotemporal area (SPT)
• Middle and inferior temporal gyri (MTG/ITG)
  (See figure page 599)

Question 12

What are the bumps and indentations on the cortex called?

Answer 12

Bumps are called gyri (or gyrus singular) and the indentations are called fissures.

Question 13

The Sylvian Fissure

Answer 13

separates the frontal lobe from the temporal lobe

Question 14

Auditory cortex

Answer 14

Early processing of sounds is done here in both the left and right hemisphere in the superior temporal gyrus

Question 15

Middle and inferior temporal gyri

Answer 15

The processing of word meaning and conceptual representations happens here

Question 16

Sylvian parietotemporal area

Answer 16

is involved in converting auditory and phonological representations into articulatory-motor (sometimes grouped with the posterior STG and called Wernicke’s area)

Question 17

Wernicke’s area

Answer 17

Sylvian parietotemporal area grouped with the posterior STG is called Wernicke’s area

Question 18

Inferior frontal gyrus/broca’s area

Answer 18

organizing the articulatory patterns of language and directing the motor cortex, which controls movement, when we want to talk. Broca’s area also seems to control the use of inflectional morphemes, like the plural and past tense markers, and function words, like determiners and prepositions

Question 19

Angular gyrus

Answer 19

This area, located between the SPT/Wernicke’s area and the visual cortex, converts visual stimuli into linguistic stimuli (and vice versa). The angular gyrus allows us to match the spoken form of a word with the object it describes, as well as with the written form of the word

Question 20

Visual cortex

Answer 20

Area of the brain located in the posterior occipital lobe of each hemisphere; responsible for receiving and interpreting visual stimuli

Question 21

White matter

Answer 21

pathways that are composed of bundles of nerve cells

Question 22

arcuate fasciculus

Answer 22

Path between STG and SPG, phonetic information (broca’s)

Question 23

Ventral pathway

Answer 23

connecting the STG and MTG/ITG with the IFG runs instead via the extreme capsule
interprets information received from arcuate fasciculus; transmits articulatory information to motor cortex

Question 24

MTG/ITG path

Answer 24

activated when accessing the lexicon; interprets lexical entry

Question 25

Motor cortex

Answer 25

directs movement of muscles for articulation

Question 26

Lateralization

Answer 26

each of the brain’s hemispheres is responsible for different cognitive functions

Question 27

Neural plasticity

Answer 27

The ability of the brain to adapt to damage and retrain regions

Question 28

contralateral

Answer 28

the right side of the body is controlled by the left hemisphere, while the left side of the body is controlled by the right hemisphere

Question 29

Aphasic

Answer 29

Unable to perceive or produce fluent language

Question 30

dichotic listening task

Answer 30

a task in which participants in an experiment are presented with two messages simultaneously, one to each ear, and are instructed to repeat back the words from only one of them

Question 31

ipsalaterally

Answer 31

On the same side in the brain

Question 32

split-brain patients

Answer 32

two hemispheres are connected by the corpus callosum, but for certain kinds of severe epilepsy, the corpus callosum used to be surgically severed, preventing the two hemispheres from transmitting information to each other

Question 33

Hemispherectomy

Answer 33

an operation in which one hemisphere or part of one hemisphere is removed from the brain

Question 34

Aphasia

Answer 34

Losing the ability to produce or understand language

Question 35

Broca’s aphasia

Answer 35

a result of damage to the inferior frontal gyrus, suffer from an inability to plan the motor sequences used in speech
When they attempt to produce language, they speak haltingly and have a difficult time forming complete words. They also tend to use telegraphic speech
They only have problems with understanding with very complex speech

Question 36

Wernicke’s aphasia

Answer 36

damage to the Sylvian parietotemporal area (SPT) and the posterior superior temporal gyrus (STG)
It is very difficult for a patient with this problem to understand the speech of others. This often results in the Wernicke’s aphasic misinterpreting what others say and responding in an unexpected way. Moreover, because Wernicke’s patients have trouble selecting appropriate words from their mental lexicon, they have a tendency to produce semantically incoherent speech

Question 37

circumlocutions

Answer 37

round-about descriptions that people use when they are unable to name the word they want

Question 38

anosognosia

Answer 38

the unawareness of the disturbances in their own language. Patients with anosognosia often seem to believe that their speech is interpretable by others when in fact it is not.

Question 39

Conduction aphasia

Answer 39

damage in the STG
characterized by an inability to repeat what someone has just said. People with this type of aphasia can understand what is said to them but make characteristic phonological speech errors when speaking spontaneously, especially when attempting to repeat what they are hearing

Question 40

Alexia

Answer 40

caused by damage to the angular gyrus, the part of the brain that converts visual stimuli to auditory stimuli, and vice versa
characterized by an acquired inability to read and comprehend written words. Often accompanied by agraphia.

Question 41

Agraphia

Answer 41

caused by damage to the angular gyrus, the part of the brain that converts visual stimuli to auditory stimuli
characterized by an acquired inability to write words. Often accompanied by alexia.

Question 42

developmental dyslexia

Answer 42

A type of learning disability that makes it difficult for people to learn to read fluently

Question 43

Specific language impairment (SLI)

Answer 43

A disorder that affects the way people process language and other quickly changing stimuli.