Neurobiology of Language

Question 1

cognitive neuroimaging methods

Answer 1

MEG and fMRI

Question 2

what is magnetoencephalography?

Answer 2

MEG records magnetic fields generated by brain activity to indicate levels of electrical activity

Question 3

how are magnetic fields measured?

Answer 3

using highly sensitive magnetism detectors SQUIDS which are arranged in a helmet to detect localised brain activity

Question 4

benefits of MEG

Answer 4

easy to use
good spatial
excellent temporal resolution
non-invasive

used alongside MRI scans to show physical structure also

Question 5

what does functional MRI detect?

Answer 5

changes in the oxygen activity of the blood in the brain, by using magnets to measure brain signals from protons in the body

Question 6

rhythm

Answer 6

pattern of events that have a repeated, predictive structure

Question 7

what is the basal ganglia (BG) involved in?

Answer 7

the perception and structure of rhythm, as it is connected to:

• outer layers processing sound (auditory cortex)
• areas controlling movement (premotor cortex, cerebellum)

Question 8

what does the Putamen do?

Answer 8

this activates when predicting how the beat of music continues

Question 9

neural resonance theory

Answer 9

electrical signals of the auditory and motor system automatically create coordinated oscillations
- the brain synchronises electrical activity to the beat

Question 10

oscillations

Answer 10

the synchronised activity of millions of brain cells

Question 11

frequency bands of different neural oscillations

Answer 11

1. delta (less than 3Hz)
2. theta (4-7Hz)
3. alpha (9-13Hz)
4. beta (14-30Hz)
5. gamma (above 30Hz)

Question 12

what does speech consist of?

Answer 12

the actual use of spoken language as oral communication

Question 13

what does talking require use of?

Answer 13

tongue muscles and vocal tract in a precise and coordinated way

Question 14

the dual-stream model of the functional anatomy of language:

Answer 14

lexical interface and higher semantic processing is bilateral

spectro-temporal and phonological network is bilateral

articulatory network and sensorimotor interface is left-dominant

Question 15

where is phoneme processing represented?

Answer 15

in the bilateral phonological network

Question 16

where are phonetic features encoded?

Answer 16

in the superior temporal gyrus, and each brain area has specificity to each phoneme sign

Question 17

high neighbourhood density words

Answer 17

phonetically similar to many other words, with 11 or more neighbours, e.g., one sound substitution/deletion/addition

Question 18

hierarchal rhythmic structure of speech:

Answer 18

prosody intonation-
temporal integration window of >500ms and frequency <2Hz

syllables-
temporal integration window of 200ms and frequency 5Hz

phonemes-
temporal integration window of 25ms and frequency 40Hz

Question 19

what does speech comprehension involve?

Answer 19

• sentence context
• prosody intonation
• syllable word
• phoneme transitions

Question 20

syllable

Answer 20

unit of pronunciation having one vowel sound, with or without surrounding consonants, forming the whole or part of a word

• speech intelligibility is dependent on syllable rate

Question 21

auditory speech

Answer 21

speech envelope

Question 22

visual speech

Answer 22

lip movements

Question 23

what is speech-tracking (entrainment)?

Answer 23

the synchronisation between speakers’ oscillations and the listener’s brain oscillations

Question 24

what is auditory speech entrainment modulated by?

Answer 24

intelligibility

• low-frequency (delta, theta) speech tracking is right-lateralised
• high-frequency (gamma) speech tracking is left-lateralised

Question 25

what is speech-tracking served by?

Answer 25

top-down modulation transfers to the auditory cortex

Question 26

evidence of visual speech being important for successful comprehension

Answer 26

cocktail party problem

Question 27

what do individuals with stronger speech-tracking in the left motor cortex have?

Answer 27

better comprehension

Question 28

prediction of speech syllables facilitates communication:

Answer 28

1. predictive comprehension 2. production planning 3. speech

Question 29

communication and joint action- what are sent and received?

Answer 29

both speech signals and non-speech signals

Question 30

face-saving indirectness

Answer 30

involves using a public face for respect and trust

Question 31

brain areas activated for the indirectness effect:

Answer 31

- medial prefrontal cortex - bilateral temporoparietal junction (TPJ) - bilateral inferior frontal gyrus - bilateral middle temporal gyrus

Question 32

what does understanding face-saving language require?

Answer 32

cognitive perspective taking and other discourse-relevant cognitive processing

Question 33

mutual understanding

Answer 33

when different minds mutually infer they agree on an understanding

Question 34

what is the production and comprehension of novel communicative behaviours supported by?

Answer 34

right lateralised fronto-temporal network

Question 35

what is the right lateralised fronto-temporal network necessary for?

Answer 35

embedding utterances in conversational context, through pragmatics and mental state inferences

Question 36

why is white matter important for information processing?

Answer 36

higher cognitive functions, e.g., speech, are distributed in areas with connections through WM bundles

Question 37

different language networks:

Answer 37

dorsal pathway ventral pathway

Question 38

dorsal pathway

Answer 38

crucial for processing complex sentences, connected to: - broca's area - precentral gyrus - premotor cortex

Question 39

ventral pathway

Answer 39

connects ventral portion of the inferior frontal gyrus to temporal cortex, via the extreme fibre capsule system

Question 40

myth of language lateralisation

Answer 40

only needing the left hemisphere for language is a myth

Question 41

which language processes are left-lateralised?

Answer 41

syntactic comprehension and production

Question 42

which language processes involve both hemsipheres?

Answer 42

sentence-level semantics engage the left and right posterior temporal gyrus for comprehension and production

Question 43

when does language processing become more bilateral?

Answer 43

with age, to compensate for structural changes, even in left-lateralised processes

Question 44

what does communication in a social context rely on?

Answer 44

right-hemisphere contribution, such as: - affective language processing - understanding nuances such as face-saving indirectness

Question 45

what does the act of communication as a joint action engage?

Answer 45

a right-lateralised fronto-temporal network