Lateralization and Language Flashcards by Rhegan Barrett

What hemisphere are language centers in

Left hemisphere

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Describe what happens a key is shown to the right visual field and the left visual field in a split brain patient

Left: visual info about the key is sent to right hemisphere, and cannot cross over to the left hemisphere language center leading to an inability to verbalize what they see
Right: visual info about the key is sent to the left hemisphere, leading to an ability to verbalize what they see

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What type of fibers are in the corpus callosum

Mostly inhibitory

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What occurs across our brain due to the inhibitory nature of the corpus callosum fibers

Leads to one hemisphere competing with the other for the type of processing that occurs

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What happens when a split brain patient is shown a different object in each visual field (spoon and pencil) and asked to use both hands to pick up the object seen

Right and left hands see different things to pick up and therefore cannot agree to pick up one thing. This leads to picking up a different object or one hand preventing the other from performing the task

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What hemisphere dominates in a visual field task “competition” in split brain patients

Left hemisphere, even if the response isn’t verbal

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What is dichotic presentation

When one ear hears one sound while the other hears another, different sound

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What ear has an advantage in dichotic presentation and why?

Information presented to the right is the sound that gets repeated as it crosses straight over to the left hemisphere language center
- Opposed to sound in the left ear that crosses over to the right then back over to the left which takes more time

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What demographic of people may have a left ear advantage in dichotic presentation

Left handed people, about 50%

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What effect does being a musician (well trained in auditory processing) have on the brain

Leads to a highly asymmetrical brain, with larger planum temporale on the left side

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What side of the brain has the larger auditory cortex (both primary and secondary)

Left hemisphere

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Tachistoscope test

Test where stimuli are very briefly exposed in either the left or right visual field

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Planum temporale

A brain area in the superior temporal lobe adjacent to the primary auditory area that is larger in the left hemisphere than the right in most adults

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Prosody

Perception of emotions in a person’s tone of voice

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What hemisphere is responsible for prosody

Right hemisphere

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Wada test

An anesthetic (sodium amytal) is injected into the carotid to anesthetize one hemisphere at a time

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Fusiform gyrus

Brain region at the temporo-occipital junction associated with face recognition

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When presenting a composite face (celebrity and participants face) to a participant, what occurs when the left hemisphere in anesthetized?

Participants are able to recognize themselves in the composite even with the left hemisphere asleep

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When presenting a composite face to a participant, what occurs when the right hemisphere in anesthetized?

Participants are unable to recognize themselves and usually see the celebrity in the composite

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Bilateral destruction of the Fusiform gyrus leads to what condition

Prosopagnosia (aka face blindness) where they lose the ability to recognize faces

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What happens when a split brain patient is asked to perform a visuospatial task with both hands (duplicating a pattern on blocks)

The split brain patient can duplicate the pattern with their left hand (right hemisphere), but is unable to do so with their right hand (left hemisphere)

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Hemisphere superior at visuospatial tasks

Right hemisphere

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Split brain patients and asymmetrical tasks

Split brain patients are much better at reconstructing asymmetrical patterns/carrying out conflicting motor programs
- Spatial representations of movements are isolated to each hemisphere

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Propose an evolutional theory for the lateralization of language and perception

Right and left hemispheres change from being both allocated for perceptual groupings due to a mutation. The left hemisphere begins to accommodate the development of language. This organization was maintained because the corpus callosum connects the two hemispheres with no extra cost

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Which hemisphere has an advantage at interpreting Gestalt images

Both hemispheres can see illusory shapes, but when outlines disturb the Gestalt image only the right hemisphere can still see the illusion - Left hemisphere no longer perceives the image as a whole

How does the left hemisphere think and organize thoughts

Through semantic processing/categorical memory (a robin is a bird, birds are animals, animals are living things)

How does the right hemisphere think and organize thoughts

Specialized for episodic memory; puts events together and is more relational than categorical

What happens when a split brain patient is asked to write a word seen in their visual field

If presented to the left hemisphere, they are unable to write the word seen If presented to the right hemisphere, they can write the word

Phoneme

A sound produced for language (f, a, n, u, th)

Morpheme

A word or the smallest part of a word that is meaningful (type, un, able)

Nonfluent speech

Talking with considerable effort, short sentences, and without melody

Broca's area

Language center in the left anterior frontal hemisphere

Broca's (nonfluent) aphasia

Leads to nonfluent spontaneous speech (difficulty producing speech), but still have the ability to comprehend speech

Wernicke's area

Language center in the left hemisphere where the parietal lobe joins temporal lobe

Wernicke's (fluent) aphasia

Are able to speak well, but cannot comprehend language

Brain of "tan"

A patient that was only able to say the syllable "tan" after a brain injury led Paul Broca to identify damage in what is now called Broca's area

Global aphasia

The total loss of ability of language; unable to speak, read, write

Damage to what brain region leads to word blindness

Angular gyrus

Damage to what brain region leads to global aphasia

Widespread left hemispheric damage

Connectionist model of aphasia

States that Broca's and Wernicke's area are connected by the arcuate fasciculus, and language deficits stem from the lack of connection between these two rea

Pathway of speaking a heard word according to connectionist model

1. Auditory transmits info about a word heard to Wernicke's area 2. Wernicke's area comprehends what the word means and transmits this info via the arcuate fasciculus to Broca's area 3. Broca's area creates a speech plan and sends it to the motor cortex

Conduction aphasia

Ability to speak and comprehend language, but trouble with repetition of spoken words and sentences due to lesioning of arcuate fasciculus

Pathway of speaking a written word according to connectionist model

1. Visual cortex analyzes the seen word and transmits info to angular gyrus 2. Angular gyrus recognizes the word 3. Wernicke's area associates the visual form of the word with its spoken form 4. Wernicke's area sends info to Broca's area via arcuate fasciculus 5. Broca's area creates a speech plan and sends it to the motor cortex

Bilingual patients and language organization

Through stimulation, it was found bilingual patients have very fine tuned subregions that control one language or the other

How can transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) affect brain activity

Can be used to create a temporary brain lesion

How does TMS affect behavior when applied to the anterior region of Broca's area

Affects processing of the meaning of words

How does TMS affect behavior when applied to the posterior region of Broca's area

Affects the processing of speech sounds

Brain region most active in viewing words

Posterior area in left hemisphere

Brain region most active in passive hearing of words

Temporal lobes

Brain region most active in orally repeating words

Bilateral motor cortices, supplementary motor cortex, portion of cerebellum and insular cortex

Brain region most active in generating associated verb

Language regions in the left hemisphere, especially Broca's area

Gene implicated in ability for normal acquisition of language

FOXP2

Effect of mutation of FOXP2 gene

Taking a long time to learn how to speak, as well as long lasting difficulties with particular language tasks

The FOXP2 gene thins gray matter in what brain regions?

Frontal cortex, basal ganglia, and cerebellum

Deep dyslexia

An acquired dyslexia where a person reads a word as another word related in meaning (reading cow as horse)

Surface dyslexia

An acquired dyslexia where a person has trouble with words with irregular sounds (plough, tough, dough, cough)

Does surface dyslexia occur in all languages?

Doesn't occur in languages that are perfectly phonetic such as Italian, but occurs often in English showing some learned aspect of language

Micropolygyria

Small regions of the brain have more folds than usual

Ectopia

Clusters of neurons in unusual locations

Brain differences in people with dyslexia

- Symmetrical planum temporales (should be asymmetrical) - Anatomical anomalies in the brain are more often seen in the left hemisphere - Micropolygyria and ectopia in unusual areas

Brain differences in children with dyslexia when processing phonemes in a rhyming task

Decreased activity in left inferior parietotemporal and fusiform regions, independent of IQ

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)

Dementia that occurs in athletes that are subjected to repeated blows to the brain

What brain changes are seen in people with CTE