Lecture 18 - Language Flashcards
What is lateralization in verbal behavior?
Verbal behavior is lateralized in the brain, with most language disturbances occurring after damage to the left side of the brain.
Which hemisphere is dominant for speech in most people?
The left hemisphere is dominant for speech in 90% of the population (94% of right-handed people and 70% of left-handed people).
What is prosody?
Prosody refers to the rhythm, emphasis, and tone of speech, which conveys emotional state and phrasing.
Which hemisphere typically processes prosody?
The right hemisphere typically processes prosody.
Can people with left hemisphere damage still understand prosody?
Yes, they can often extract emotional and contextual information from prosody, even if they struggle with language comprehension.
Can people recognize voices independently of word comprehension?
Yes, voice recognition is independent of word comprehension, and even people with left hemisphere damage can recognize familiar voices.
What is phonagnosia, and what causes it?
Phonagnosia is a disorder where people struggle to recognize voices, caused by damage to the right temporal lobe.
Which hemisphere is strongly activated when understanding unfamiliar metaphors?
The right hemisphere is strongly activated when understanding unfamiliar metaphors.
Which hemisphere is needed for literal word meanings?
The left hemisphere is needed for understanding the literal meanings of words.
What is aphasia?
Aphasia is a disturbance in understanding, repeating, or producing meaningful speech, not caused by sensory/motor deficits or lack of motivation.
What conditions must be met for a diagnosis of aphasia?
The patient must be aware of communication attempts and their surroundings, and the difficulty must be relatively isolated.
How is the middle cerebral artery related to aphasia?
Damage to the middle cerebral artery often results in aphasia, with symptoms varying depending on the location of cell death.
What are the types of aphasia caused by damage to the frontal lobe? List other names for this condition.
Damage to the frontal lobe causes deficits in speaking and writing, also known as:
- Anterior aphasia
- Motor aphasia
- Expressive aphasia
- Broca’s aphasia
- Non-fluent aphasia
What are the types of aphasia caused by damage to the sensory association cortex? List other names for this condition.
Damage to the sensory association cortex causes deficits in understanding language, also known as:
-Posterior aphasia
- Sensory aphasia
- Receptive aphasia
- Wernicke’s aphasia
- Fluent aphasia
What types of sensory and motor associations help understand the word “dog”?
- Vision: What do dogs look like?
- Auditory: What do dogs sound like?
- Touch: What do dogs feel like?
- Olfaction: What do dogs smell like?
- Gustatory: What do dogs taste like?
- Motor: What does petting a dog entail?
Which association cortex processes what a dog looks like?
The visual association cortex.
Which association cortex processes what a dog feels like?
The somatosensory association cortex.
Which association cortex processes what a dog sounds like?
The auditory association cortex.
Which cortex plans motor actions like petting a dog?
The premotor cortex.
What does S1 process in language areas?
S1 processes texture perception (e.g., the feel of a dog) and Braille word perception.
What does A1 process in language areas?
A1 processes spoken word perception (Wernicke’s Area) and sounds (e.g., a dog barking).
What does V1 process in language areas?
V1 processes written word perception (VWFA) and the sight of objects (e.g., a dog).
What does M1 (Mouth) process in language areas?
M1 (Mouth) processes speaking, including word choice, sequencing, grammar, and articulation (Broca’s Area).
What does M1 (Hand) process in language areas?
M1 (Hand) processes writing.
What areas connect to the posterior language area and Broca’s area?
All language perception areas connect to both the posterior language area and Broca’s area.
What is the posterior language area responsible for in word comprehension?
The posterior language area activates neurons in sensory association cortices, which store representations (meanings) of specific words, enabling comprehension.
Where is the posterior language area located, and why is it important?
It is at the junction of the temporal, occipital, and parietal lobes, and it is critical for language comprehension, regardless of how words are received (heard, spoken, or read).
What condition results from damage to the posterior language area, and what are its symptoms?
Transcortical sensory aphasia, characterized by:
- Failure to comprehend word meanings.
- Inability to express meaningful speech.
- Intact word perception and speaking, but without understanding.
What is Wernicke’s area, and what function does it serve?
Wernicke’s area is part of the auditory association cortex in the left temporal lobe, where sounds are recognized as spoken words.
What is pure word deafness, and what causes it?
Pure word deafness is an inability to comprehend or repeat spoken words, caused by damage to a small part of Wernicke’s area.
What abilities remain intact in people with pure word deafness?
They can:
- Hear non-speech sounds (e.g., doorbells, barking).
- Read and write.
- Read lips.
- Speak intelligently, though speech may become awkward over time.
What is conduction aphasia, and what causes it?
Conduction aphasia is the inability to repeat words, caused by damage to the arcuate fasciculus, which connects Wernicke’s and Broca’s areas.
How is conduction aphasia different from other language disorders?
Comprehension and expression are intact, but repeating exact words or nonsense words is impaired.
What are the characteristics of Wernicke’s aphasia?
- Fluent but meaningless speech.
- Poor comprehension of language.
- Lack of awareness of the problem.
- Caused by damage around Wernicke’s area and the posterior language area.
How can you differentiate between transcortical sensory aphasia (TSA) and Wernicke’s aphasia?
- TSA patients can repeat what is said, indicating they recognize spoken words.
- Wernicke’s aphasia patients often cannot repeat words and have poorer spoken word recognition.
What are receptive aphasias, and why are they called fluent aphasias?
Receptive aphasias are characterized by difficulty understanding words that are heard, read, or signed. They are also called fluent aphasias because speech remains fluid, though it lacks meaning.
What does Byron’s recovery story teach about aphasia?
Recovery is ongoing and can continue beyond initial expectations, even if a full recovery is unlikely. Support and persistence are key to improvement.
What is pure alexia, and what causes it?
Pure alexia (or pure word blindness) is an inability to read due to damage to the visual word-form area (VWFA) in the fusiform gyrus of the left hemisphere.
Can people with pure alexia still write?
Yes, people with pure alexia can write but cannot read what they have written.
Where is the visual word-form area (VWFA) located?
The VWFA is in the fusiform gyrus of the left hemisphere, specialized for written word recognition.
How does the fusiform gyrus function differ between hemispheres?
The left fusiform gyrus (VWFA) processes written words, while the right fusiform gyrus is more dominant in face perception.
What are the two processes involved in reading?
Reading involves whole-word recognition (“sight reading”) and phonetic reading (sounding out words letter by letter).
What is surface dyslexia?
Surface dyslexia is a reading disorder where individuals cannot recognize whole words but can read phonetically, struggling with irregularly spelled words.
What is phonological dyslexia?
Phonological dyslexia is a reading disorder where individuals can read familiar words but struggle with unfamiliar words or non-words.
What is developmental dyslexia, and what causes it?
Developmental dyslexia is a hereditary condition, primarily a type of phonological dyslexia, where individuals have difficulty learning to read, often accompanied by challenges with grammar, spelling, and sound order.
What is direct dyslexia?
Direct dyslexia occurs when stroke patients can read aloud but cannot extract meaning from written words.
What happens when Broca’s area is damaged?
Damage to Broca’s area causes Broca’s aphasia, characterized by slow, nonfluent speech, difficulty expressing oneself, and frustration due to awareness of the condition.
What are the three primary symptoms of Broca’s aphasia?
Articulation problems, agrammatism, and anomia.
What is articulation, and how is it affected in Broca’s aphasia?
Articulation is the movement of speech organs to produce sounds. Problems may include unclear speech or sequencing errors (e.g., “lipstick” becomes “lickstip”).
What is agrammatism?
Agrammatism is the difficulty using or understanding grammar, such as verb endings and word order. People with agrammatism mainly use content words and struggle with function words.
What is anomia?
Anomia is difficulty finding the right words, often leading to circumlocution, where individuals describe things indirectly.
What is the difference between content words and function words?
Content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives) carry meaning, while function words (articles, prepositions) provide grammatical structure.
