Language

Question 1

What is language?

Answer 1

→ A system for representing and communicating information about the world using symbols and rules

Question 2

What is formal language?

Answer 2

→ A finite system of signs and rules for combination

Question 3

What is articulation?

Answer 3

→ Movement of the tongue, lips and jaw to modify a soundwave

Question 4

What are the 3 places of articulation?

Answer 4

→Labial
→ Alveolar
→ Palatal

Question 5

What are the two manners of articulation?

Answer 5

→ Voiced vs. unvoiced

→ Fricative or plosive

Question 6

What is phonology?

Answer 6

→ The sound combinations from which the syllables and words of a language are built up

Question 7

What is meaning?

Answer 7

→ The representation in long term memory of concepts and the relations between them

Question 8

What is syntax?

Answer 8

→ The arrangement of words and phrases to create well formed sentences

Question 9

What does syntax rely on?

Answer 9

→ Grammatical markers and word order

Question 10

What is comprehension?

Answer 10

→ The ability to represent the meaning of words or sentences spoken or written by another person

Question 11

What are the 4 things required for comprehension?

Answer 11

→ context
→ pitch
→ Stress
→ prosody

Question 12

What is the cerebral organisation of language dependent on?

Answer 12

→ left hemisphere

→ language network

Question 13

What region of the brain is involved in meaning?

Answer 13

→ anterior regions of the temporal lobe

Question 14

What does Wernicke’s area do?

Answer 14

→ Decoding speech signals

Question 15

What does the arcuate fasciculus do?

Answer 15

→ connects the anterior and posterior parts of the language network together

Question 16

What parts of the brain does articulation and phonology depend on?

Answer 16

→ Inferior and opercular parts of the motor cortex

→ Anterior portion of Brocas area

Question 17

Describe the temporal cortex?

Answer 17

→ Densely interconnected with widespread regions of association cortex

Question 18

What area of the brain is syntax dependent on?

Answer 18

→ frontal areas (left inferior frontal gyrus)

Question 19

What areas of the brain are involved in comprehension?

Answer 19

→ Primary auditory cortex
→ temporal poles
→ left inferior frontal gyrus 
→ Arcuate fasciculus 
→ Left posterior superior temporal gyrus

Question 20

What are the 4 types of change in language after brain damage?

Answer 20

→ Broca’s aphasia
→ Wernicke’s aphasia
→ Conduction aphasia
→ Adynamic aphasia

Question 21

What is speech like in Broca’s aphasia?

Answer 21

→ halting
→ fragmented
→ distorted
→ agrammatic

Question 22

What is comprehension like in Broca’s aphasia?

Answer 22

→ Preserved for words

→ reduced for sentences

Question 23

What are typical pathologies that lead to Broca’s aphasia?

Answer 23

→ Middle cerebral artery infarction

→ Haemorrhagic stroke

Question 24

What is speech like in Wernicke’s aphasia?

Answer 24

→ fluent

→ meaningless phonological strings

Question 25

What is damaged in Wernicke's aphasia?

Answer 25

→ Posterior regions of the language network

Question 26

What are the typical pathologies that lead to Wernicke's aphasia?

Answer 26

→ Penetrating brain injuries | → cerebral haemorrhage

Question 27

What is Wernicke's aphasia also called?

Answer 27

→ Sensory or receptive aphasia

Question 28

What is speech like in conduction aphasia?

Answer 28

→ Mild fluency and comprehension difficulties

Question 29

What is the test for conduction aphasia?

Answer 29

→ single word and sentence repetition

Question 30

What is damaged in conduction aphasia?

Answer 30

→ Posterior perisylvian regions and underlying white matter

Question 31

What are the typical pathologies of conduction aphasia?

Answer 31

→ Lacunar stroke

Question 32

What is speech like in dynamic aphasia?

Answer 32

→ Reduced → fragmentary → echoic → perseverative

Question 33

What is dynamic aphasia?

Answer 33

→ Difficulty planning, initiating and maintaining speech

Question 34

What is the test for dynamic aphasia?

Answer 34

→ High vs. low constraint sentence completion | → they find it difficult to complete open ended sentences

Question 35

What is damaged in dynamic aphasia?

Answer 35

→ anterior left inferior frontal gyrus

Question 36

What are the typical pathologies in dynamic aphasia?

Answer 36

→ left anterior cerebral artery infarction

Question 37

What is conduction aphasia?

Answer 37

→ Difficulty with repetition

Question 38

What is Broca's aphasia?

Answer 38

→ Difficulty with articulation and phonology

Question 39

What are the 3 types of aphasia associated with neurodegeneration?

Answer 39

→ Non fluent progressive aphasia → Fluent progressive aphasia → Logopenic progressive aphasia

Question 40

What is speech like in nonfluent progressive aphasia?

Answer 40

→ Slow → distorted and agrammatic speech → phonological and grammatical errors in spontaneous speech → difficulty understanding sentences

Question 41

What is the typical pathology of nonfluent progressive aphasia?

Answer 41

→ Primary tauopathy

Question 42

What is speech like in fluent progressive aphasia?

Answer 42

→ Normal sounding speech rate → production empty of content → generic word and pronoun use → profound single word comprehension difficulties

Question 43

How does fluent progressive aphasia begin?

Answer 43

→ Subtle word finding changes

Question 44

Where and what is the pathology in fluent progressive aphasia?

Answer 44

→ Anterior temporal regions | → TDP-43 proteinopathy

Question 45

What is speech like in logopenic progressive aphasia?

Answer 45

→ Poverty of speech output → occasional errors in syntax and phonology → poor sentence repetition

Question 46

Where and what is the pathology in logopenic progressive aphasia?

Answer 46

→ posterior perisylvian pathology | → Alzheimers