Language and Attention

Question 1

What are the 2 types of joint attention?

Answer 1

Responding to Joint Attention & Initiating Joint Attention

Question 2

What is RJA? What role does it play in language?

Answer 2

Sharing a common point of interest

Helps learning and language acquisition via triangulation

Question 3

What is IJA?

Answer 3

Sharing interest and pleasure

Requires a deeper understanding of attention & intentions

Question 4

Describe joint attention in apes and autistic children

Answer 4

Apes have a mechanism of RJA, but very limited use of IJA.

Autistic children have normal-function RJA mechanism, but an impaired IJA mechanism.

Question 5

What does the social-cognitive model state?

Answer 5

Social cognition is necessary for the development of joint attention

Question 6

Differentiate between white and grey matter

Answer 6

Grey matter is where cognition happens.

White matter is where connections are made

Question 7

Where do RJA and IJA happen (brain)?

Answer 7

RJA happens in the posterior attentional system

IJA happens in the anterior attentional system, frontal lobe

Question 8

What are EEGs? Name an advantage and disadvantage.

Answer 8

EEG - method to record brain responses

Advantage: good temporal resolution
Disadvantage: poor spatial resolution

Question 9

In what dimensions do ERPs vary?

Answer 9

1. Polarity
2. Latency
3. Scalp distribution

Question 10

Describe MisMatch Negativity (MNN)

Answer 10

Automatic redirection of attention towards a deviant stimulus

Peaks at around 100ms, centro-frontal, pre-attentive response

Question 11

Describe N400.

Answer 11

Linked to language.
Visible when there are semantic violations
Controlled (in speech)

Question 12

Describe ELAN & P600.

Answer 12

ELAN is the first response to identifying a morphosyntactic violation

P600 is the reanalysis of this violation

• Controlled
• Not language-specific
• Observed in case of syntactic or structural difficulty/ ambiguity (violation of expectation)

Question 13

What is an advantage of fMRIs?

Answer 13

Good spatial resolution

Question 14

What is Parkinson’s Disease?

Answer 14

A neurodegenerative disorder that affects the attention and memory networks. Results in difficulty maintaining focus on words and retrieving them from memory, and inability to identify phonetic and semantic errors on a sentence

Question 15

What is Specific Language Impairment (SLI)?

Answer 15

A developmental language disorder that affects phonological, semantic and syntactic processing

Question 16

What is dyslexia?

Answer 16

A visual attention deficit that predicts poor reading/ dyslexia