language Flashcards
aphasia
a disruption in the ability to process or produce language after brain damage (especially to the left hemisphere)
traditionally it was discovered that the left hemisphere was important for language, but new research shows the right hemisphere does play a role
crossed aphasia
right hemisphere lesion in a right hanger
occurs one percent or less
broca’s aphasia
portion of the left hemisphere is critical for speech output
people with damage to the region could comprehend speech but had difficulty with speech output
difficulty producing words - not accompanied by motoric problems of vocal musculature ie/ can blow out candles
sentences do not fit standard structure ie/ need help send money (just nouns and verbs) - telegraphic speech
broca’s aphasia lesions
lesion in left hemisphere
typically anterior to the section of the motor strip responsible for control of the face
also involves surrounding white matter and subcortical connections
involved in both medial and lateral regions
wernicke’s aphasia
characterized by disrupted speech comprehension
speech output is fluent, without hesitation
inability to link a sound image to meaning
word salad - a jumble of words
paraphasias
errors in producing specific words as a result of wernicke’s aphasia
semantic paraphasia
substitute a word with similar meaning to the intended word (ie/ barn for house)
phonemic paraphasia
substitute a word with similar sound to the intended word (ie/ table becomes trable or fable)
neologisms
made up words that follow the rules for combining sounds in the language, yet are not real words (ie/ galump or trebbin)
wernicke’s aphasia lesions
posterior to central fissure
involves the superior temporal lobe near heschl’s gyrus (primary auditory area)
conduction aphasia
characterized by an inability to repeat what was just heard, although language comprehension and speech production are intact
caused by damage to the white matter tract, the arcuate fasciculus, that connects Broca’s and wernickes’s areas, along with the surrounding tissue
deficit arises from inability to relay info from one intact region to another
disconnection syndrome
the connection between broca’s and wernike’s area has been severed
caused by severed connection beween intact brain regions
global aphasia
damage to multiple parts of the system - can not comprehend or produce language
the inability to comprehend or produce language associated with extensive left-hemisphere damage that typically includes both wernicke’s and broca’s areas and the area between them
associated with extensive left - hemisphere damage
three main components of language
phonology
syntax
semantics
phonology
examines the sound that compose a language and the rules that govern their combination
a phoneme is considered the smallest unit of sound that can signal meaning
the phonetic representation of speech sound describes how it is produced on particular occasions or in particular contexts
broca’s aphasia patients have difficulty producing both
wernicke’s aphasia patients struggle to produce the correct phoneme, but can produce the correct phonetic representation ie/ saying pat for bat
syntax
rules of grammar
describes the rules governing how words are put together in sentences - varies language to language
people with aphasia involving anterior lesions often have a compromised ability both to produce and to comprehend the grammatical aspects on language
these difficulties in syntax are observed even across different languages with varying grammatica markers
agrammatical aphasia: anterior aphasia
- inability to produce and comprehend the gammatical aspects of language
semantics
the meaning of language
concerned with the meanings of words and word combinations
the ability to extract meaning from language to use words to produce meaning is seriously compromised in patients with aphasia involving posterior lesions
in less severe cases, the patients understand simple nouns but have difficulty comprehending more complicated linguistic material
the difficulty in comprehending the meaning of language is pervasive across modalities, extending to both auditory and written language
patients with anterior aphasia appear to have intact semantic processing but may exhibit intact semantic processing but may exhibit minor problems in comprehension when when syntax plays a large role in interpreting sentences
left inferior frontal cortex
semantic processing - rostral (anterior)
phonological processing - caudal (posterior)
dorsal pathways
transform linguistic information into sequential and articulatory info
ventral pathways
transform linguistic information into meaning
McGurk Effect
speech perception in more than just hearing
visual info is also integrated with auditory info early on
therefore effect can be seen during phonetic processing
visual spoken language
models of neural basis of spoken language can be evaluated by examining spoken language systems that are completely visual
ASL, the language is used by most deaf individuals in the USA
ASL suggests that brain organization for language is similar, regardless of the modality of communication