Language

Question 1

agrammatic aphasia

Answer 1

difficulty producing and/or understanding the structure of sentences. agrammatic aphasia is seen in brain-damaged patients who may speak using only content words, leaving out function words such as ‘the’ and ‘a’

Question 2

alexia

Answer 2

a neurological syndrome in which the ability to read is disrupted. alexia is frequently referred to as ‘acquired alexia’ to indicate that it results from a neurological disturbance such as a stroke, usually including the occipitoparietal region of the left hemisphere. in contrast, ‘developmental alexia’ (dyslexia) refers to problems in reading that are apparent during child development. the phrases acquired alexia and developmental alexia are commonly used to indicate that reading is abnormal, either from a neurological disturbance or as part of development.

Question 3

anomia

Answer 3

difficulty generating the words used to label things in the world. patient H.W. -> Patient had no impairment in object knowledge. Patient knew
what the object was but simply could not produce the word for it.

Question 4

aphasia

Answer 4

broad term for
collective deficits in language
comprehension and
production that accompany
neurological damage

Question 5

apraxia

Answer 5

difficulty pronouncing words

Question 6

arcuate fasciculus

Answer 6

a white matter tract that connects the posterior temporal region with frontal brain regions and is believed to transmit language-related information between the posterior and anterior brain regions

Question 7

broca’s aphasia

Answer 7

speech difficulties in the absence of severe comprehension problems. broca’s aphasics may also suffer from problems in fully comprehending grammatically complex sentences
The speech output of this patient is slow and
effortful, and it lacks function words. It resembles a
telegram.
* (b) Broca’s aphasia patients also may have
accompanying problems with speech articulation
because of deficits in regulation of the articulatory
apparatus (e.g., muscles of the tongue).
* (c) Finally, these patients sometimes have a hard
time understanding reversible sentences, where a
full understanding of the sentence depends on
correct syntactic assignment of the thematic roles
(e.g., who hit whom).
Brain damage and language deficits
7

Question 8

broca’s area

Answer 8

an area located in the left hemisphere of the frontal cortex that is important to language production
-> pars triangularis (front) and pars opercularis (back)

Question 9

conduction aphasia

Answer 9

a form of aphasia that is considered a disconnection syndrome. condition aphasia may occur when the arcuate fasciculus, the pathway from wernicke’s area to broca’s area, is damaged, thereby disconnecting the posterior and anterior language areas

Question 10

dysarthria

Answer 10

difficulty saying words

Question 11

lexical access

Answer 11

the process by which perceptual inputs activate word formation in the mental lexicon, including semantic and syntactic information about the word

Question 12

lexical integration

Answer 12

the function of words being integrated into a full sentence, discourse, or large current context to discern the message

Question 13

lexical selection

Answer 13

the process of selecting from a collection of representations the activated word that best matches the sensory input

Question 14

mental lexicon

Answer 14

a mental store of information about words, including semantic information (meaning of the words), syntactic information (rules for using the words), and the details of word forms (spelling and sound patterns)

organization of mental lexicon:
1. morpheme, 2. frequently accessed words more quickly than less frequently accessed words, 3. phoneme, 4. representations in the mental lexicon are organised according to semantic relationships

-> semantic network model - the strength of the connection and the distance between the nodes are determined by the semantic or associative relations between the words (car -> truck)

Question 15

morpheme

Answer 15

the smallest grammatical unit of a language that carries bits of meaning. morphemes may or may not be whole words

Question 16

N400 response

Answer 16

a negative-polarity event-related potential that is elicited by words and that is larger in amplitude for words that do not fit well into the sentence context
(semantic violations at the end of the sentence) - (may be likely to be elicited from left temporal cortex)

Question 17

orthographic form

Answer 17

the vision-based form of a word in written language

Question 18

P600 response

Answer 18

a positive-polarity event-related potential elicited when words violate syntactic rules in sentences. it is also seen in some cases of semantic violations with correct syntax

Question 19

phoneme

Answer 19

the smallest perceived unit of sound in a language

Question 20

phonological form

Answer 20

the sound-based form of a word in spoken language

Question 21

semantic paraphasia

Answer 21

use the word horse when they
mean cow. This supports the idea that mental
lexicon contains semantic networks of words
having related meanings clustered together.
wernicke’s aphasia patients often produce semantic paraphasia

Question 22

Sylvian fissure

Answer 22

a large fissure (sulcus) on the lateral surface of the cerebral cortex. separates the frontal cortex from the temporal lobe below

Question 23

syntactic parsing

Answer 23

when brain assigns a syntactic structure to words in sentences

Question 24

syntax

Answer 24

the rules that constrain word combinations and sequences in a sentence

Question 25

wernicke’s aphasia

Answer 25

disorder in language
comprehension.
* More recent studies showed that damage to
surrounding tissue or to the white matter is
causing Wernicke’s aphasia.

Question 26

wernicke’s area

Answer 26

speech comprehension

Question 27

tip of the tongue effect

Answer 27

happens when you’re trying to remember something—like a word or a name—and you feel like you almost have it, but can’t quite recall it completely.

Question 28

Anatomy of language
big intelligent sharks swim superbly in awesome waters

Answer 28

Broca’s area, Inferior frontal cortex, Sylvian fissure, Superior temporal gyrus, Supramarginal gyrus, Inferior parietal lobule, Angular gyrus, Wernicke’s area

-> predominantly in the left hemisphere

Question 29

conduction aphasia

Answer 29

damage to the arcuate
fasciculus (connecting Broca’s and Wenicke’s
area) should result in conduction aphasia:
patient can understand the words they see or
hear and and they are able to hear their own
speech errors but cannot repair them

Question 30

Lichtheim’s theory

Answer 30

Lichtheim introduced a third region in
addition to Broca’s and Wernicke’s area.
* Lichtheim proposed a third region that
stored conceptual information about words
* According to Lichtheim, once a word was
retrieved from word storage, it was sent to
the concept area, which supplied all
information that was associated with the
word.
* Currently, the model does not correspond
to what we know about neuroanatomy, but
nevertheless it was an influential model.

Question 31

neural substrates of mental lexicon

Answer 31

just seeing a living thing (basic identification) -> posterior occipitotemporal sites
identifying the thing -> posterior occipitotemporal sites and anteromedial temporal lobes

Question 32

understanding speech

Answer 32

Newborns have ability to distinguish all possible
phonemes.
* We speak about 15 phonemes per second and
around 180 words per minute.
* About 40 different phonemes in English language.

Question 33

segmentation problem

Answer 33

how do we segment all the auditory sounds we hear into different words?
-> prosodic information: what the listener can derive from speech rhythm and pitch of the speaker’s voice

Question 34

heschl’s gyri

Answer 34

area for main auditory input and known as auditory association cortex
-Acoustic sensitivity decreases moving
anteriorly, inferiorly, and posteriorly away
from primary auditory cortex, while
sensitivity to speech increases
-So hierarchical processing is a key
organizational aspect of the human cortical
auditory system

Question 35

Connectome based symptom lesion mapping (CLSM)

Answer 35

produces a
statistical relationship for the strength of
connections among all brain regions from a
standard brain atlas and the behavioral deficits of
the patients

Question 36

selfridge model

Answer 36

Image demons: Represent raw visual input (e.g., a letter image).
* Feature demons: Detect specific features like vertical lines, curves, or angles.
* Cognitive demons: Represent specific letters and “shout” if their features are present.
* Decision demon: Listens to the shouting and selects the loudest cognitive demon, identifying the letter

Bottom-up, feed-forward process.
* Relies heavily on feature detection.
* Simple and intuitive, explaining how letters can be recognized based on their visual components.

Question 37

Mclelland & Rumelhart
visual letter recognition

Answer 37

developed a new computational model for visual letter recognition
three layers: 1. features, 2. letters, 3. representation of words

allows for top-down information (i.e. information from the
higher cognitve levels, such as the word layer) to influence earlier processes that happen at
lower levels of representation (the letter layer and the feature layer). Also explains bottom up
processing

Question 38

selfridge vs. mcclellan

Answer 38

McClelland & Rumelhart model allows for parallel processing such that letters can be
processed at the same time, whereas in Selfridge’s model, one letter is processed at a time in
a serial manner.
McClelland & Rumelhart model does excellent job in explaining real life phenomena such as
the word superiority effect (i.e. words are recognized better than non-words), suggesting that
words are not perceived letter by letter.

Question 39

VWFA

Answer 39

visual word formation area
occipitotemporal cortex
area responsible for viewing letter strings
Damage to VWFA results in alexia (condition
whereby patients cannot read words though
other aspects of language are normal).
-> more strongly connected with areas within the left perisylvian language system

Question 40

three classes of models that explain word comprehension

Answer 40

1. modular models:
   language comprehension is executed within separate and independent modules →
   higher-level representations cannot influence lower-level ones (flow is bottom-up)
2. interactive models:
   all types of information can participate in word recognition → context can
   have its influence even before the sensory information is available.
3. hybrid models:
   (in between modular and interactive models) Lexical access is autonomous and not
   influenced by higher-level information, but lexical selection can be influenced by sensory and
   higher-level contextual information.
   Language comprehension: later steps

Question 41

zwitserlood

Answer 41

did study to examine modular versus interactive model and found
evidence for top down context (so interactive model)
* Higher order semantic processing is important to determine the right sense of
meaning of words in the context of a sentence.
If a sentence still has syntactic structure we can process it still but if sentence lacks
meaning and structure we don’t process it well.

Question 42

dashed waveform

Answer 42

word in a sentence that is syntactically anomalous

Question 43

solid waveform

Answer 43

word in a sentence that is syntactically correct

Question 44

syntactic positive shift

Answer 44

In the anomalous sentence, a positive shift (shaded) emerges in the ERP waveform at about
600 ms after the syntactic violation.

Question 45

left anterior negativity (LAN)

Answer 45

syntactic violations (“the red eats”)

Question 46

complexity of syntactic structures - Caplan et al

Answer 46

Blood flow increased in left inferior prefrontal cortex (red spots) when participants processed
complex syntactic structures relative to simple ones.

PET activations in the anterior portion of the superior temporal gyrus (STG) related to
syntactic processing. IFG = inferior frontal gyrus; MTG = middle temporal gyrus

Question 47

lesions in the anterior superior temporal cortex lead to… (dronkers)

Answer 47

…deficits in syntactic processing

Thus: network of inferior frontal gyrus and superior temporal cortex involved in syntactic
processing.

Question 48

three language elements of the brain (hagoort)

Answer 48

proposes three elements:
- memory (left temporal lobe): linguistic knowledge that is encoded and consolidated in neocortical memory
systems. Knowledge about building blocks of language (e.g. phonological, morphological,
and syntactic units) is domain specific and coded differently from visual feature or object
information.,
- unification (left inferior frontal gyrus): the integration of lexically retrieved phonological, semantic, and syntactic
information into an overall representation of the whole utterance. Unification can occur in
parallel,
- control (lateral and medial frontal gyrus): relates language to social interactions and joint action (e.g. in bilingualism and in
taking turns during a conversation).

Question 49

levels model of speech production

Answer 49

Word production proceeds through stages of
conceptual preparation, lexical selection,
morphological (i.e. assembling morphemes) and
phonological (convert morpheme to sequence of
sound) encoding, phonetic (convert phonological
representation into motor output) encoding, and
articulation. Speakers monitor their own speech
by making use of their comprehension system.

(levelt model example slide 50-1)

Question 50

Hickok Hierarchical state feedback control (HSFC)
model (2012)

Answer 50

Other models have emphasized the motor
component in speech and is a model of parallel
processing and two levels of hierarchical control.
* Input to the HSFC model begins with activation
of a conceptual representation that in turn
excites a corresponding word representation.
* At this point, parallel processing begins in
sensory and motor systems, both of which have
hierarchical control organization.
* Higher level codes speech information on the
syllable level. The lower level codes speech at
the articulatory features that correspond to
phonemes.
HSFC model Speech production is
organized into higher-level linguistic planning
and lower-level motor execution.
* At each level of the hierarchy, the system
maintains a representation of the current
state of speech production:
* Linguistic State: Represents phonemes,
syllables, or words to be produced.
* Motor State: Represents the articulation
commands needed to execute speech.
* The model uses internal feedback loops to
monitor and adjust speech production

Question 51

left hemispheric dominance

Answer 51

Humans have robust interconnectivity of the inferior frontal cortex, inferior parietal cortex,
and temporal cortex, especially lateral and inferior temporal cortex by massive projections of
the arcuate fasciculus. The white matter tracts of the chimpanzee and the macaque monkey
show greatly reduced or absent projections into lateral and inferior temporal cortex.