Language and lateralization Flashcards
Phonology
the study of the abstract sound patterns of a particular language, usually according to some system of rules.
Syntax
rules for arranging items (sounds, words, word parts of phrases) into their possible
combinations in a language.
Semantics
the analysis of the meaning of a language at the word, phrase, sentence level, or beyond.
Lateralization
the two different halves of the brain often have different functions
I. e. Right temporo-parietal network for exogenous attention.
Split brains
epilepsy patients, they isolated the different parts of the brain by cutting out the corpus callosum.
Universal Grammar (UG)
language-specific components of the shared initial biological endowment → genetic component that allows us to produce and understand patterns in language.
Associative (or connectionist, or usage-based theories)
language has a hierarchical structure and the position of the words is important for the interpretation of language → meaning depends on the syntactic structure in the brain.
Aphasia
impairment in language understanding and/or production that is caused by brain injury.
Broca’s aphasia
language impairment characterized by difficulty with speech production but not with language comprehension.
Related to a damage in Broca’s area: region of the frontal lobe that is involved in the production of speech.
Wernicke (or fluent) aphasia
language impairment characterized by fluent speech and little language comprehension.
Related to damage in Wernicke’s area: region of the temporo-parietal cortex involved in the perception and production of speech.
Global aphasia
total loss of ability to understand language, speak, read, or write → the inner voice is silenced.
Broca’s area
production of speech + syntactic organization
Wernicke’s area
comprehension of speech + lexicon
2 main pathways
- Ventral (BA 45, BA 47 and temporal cortex): supports processing of semantic information.
- Dorsal (BA 44): supports the ordering of words in hierarchically structured sentences and subserves the comprehension of complex sentences.
Meaning
- Complex language processing: BA 45, BA 47, and anterior/posterior temporal cortex via ventral pathways.
- Semantics and reasoning (retrieval and manipulation of semantic information): ventral system.
Sensitive period
period during development in which an organism can be permanently altered by a particular experience or treatment → it exists also for language acquisition
Bingualism
separate points in the brain has been found to interfering with speech for spanish and english when stimulated.
- Late biliguals: separate representations of english and french in Broca’s area (production) while in Wernicke’s area (understanding) there is overlapping.
- Early bilinguals: overlap in Broca’s areas of both languages.
Common descent
neural and genetic mechanism similar among different species.
Convergence
humans make use of these mechanisms to evolved similarly to songbirds
Specialization
human language syntax is a human unique mechanism
Stereognosis
ability to perceive and recognize the form of an object in the absence of visual and auditory information, by using tactile information to provide cues from texture, size, spatial properties, and temperature, etc.
Prosody
intonation and rhythmic stress patterns in speech
Wada test
they anesthetize one half of the brain. In right-handed people, language is controlled by left side, while in left-handed people it is also on the right side.
Prosopagnosia and the right hemisphere
Composite image of self and celebrity. When right size is anesthesized participants see a celebrity, and when left size is anesthetized, they see themselves. The ability to recognize faces is in the fusiform gyrus (right hemisphere)
Function of lateralization:
chicks have to peck bits of food and look out for predators. Each hemisphere is better at doing one of the tasks
Language
Language is not the particular form of speech of a group of people. Not necessarily speech, sign language. Not the same as communication. Language is thought independent of the way it is externalized. Most language happens in the mind
Systems of language:
1) Syntactic rules and representation
2) Internal conceptual-intentional interface
3) External sensory-motor interface
NCM lesions
impair tutor song recognition, so they do not show a preference for the tutor song. But they do not show a different in song production. A neural dissociation between NCM necessary for recognition but not for singing their own song.
