SLD- Ch 3 Flashcards
neuron
nerve cell, is the basic unit of the nervous system
synapse
Neurons are close enough to enable chemical‐electrical impulses to “jump” in the miniscule space between the axon of one neuron and the dendrites of the next
central nervous system (CNS)
brain and spinal cord
peripheral nervous system (PNS)
Any neural tissue outside the CNS; conducts impulses either toward or away from the CNS
afferent
Nerves that conduct messages toward the brain
efferent
Nerves that conduct messages away from the brain
brainstem
At the top of the spinal cord consisting of the medulla (emanates at the superior end of the spine), pons (middle), and midbrain (most superior, curls & points to frontal lobe); These structures regulate involuntary functions, such as breathing and heart rate
reticular formation
integrates sensory inputs and inhibits or facilitates sensory transmission.
thalamus
relays incoming sensory information (except for smell) to the brain and prepares the brain to receive input
cerebellum
controls equilibrium and is responsible for regulating motor and muscle activity by acting on the messages sent from “higher up.” Now believed to process some language and higher-level cognitive and emotional functions
cerebrum
larger, “thinking” part of the brain and lies above the is divided into left and right hemispheres
cortex
white fibrous connective tracts made primarily of nerve cell bodies
Association fibers
run between different areas within each hemisphere
Projection fibers
connect the cortex to the brainstem and below
Transverse fibers
connect the two hemispheres; The largest transverse tract is the corpus callosum
Regulation
refers to the amount of “attention” the cortex needs to function
Processing
information analysis, coding, and storage
Formulation
creation of intentions and behavior
contralateral
each hemisphere is concerned with the opposite side of the body, with the exception of vision and hearing
Right Hemisphere
capable of recognizing printed words but has difficulty decoding; comprehension and production of speech prosody and affect; metaphorical language and semantics; and comprehension of complex; pragmatics, including the perception and expression of emotion in language, the ability to understand jokes, irony, and figurative language, and the ability to produce and comprehend coherent discourse.
Left Hemisphere
specialized for language in all modalities, linear order perception, arithmetic calculations, and logical reasoning; dominant for control of speech and non-speech-related oral movements and for math and language processing; adept at perceiving rapidly changing sequential information, such as acoustic characteristics of phonemes in speech
Brain Maturation
Brain weight triples during the first two years of life; By age 12, the brain has usually reached its full weight; Sequence of neural development includes:Weight gain,Myelination of sensory and motor tracts, Cell differentiation
PET Scan
Neuroimaging
Comprehension
Consists of auditory processing and language decoding and involves many areas of the brain.
Heschl’s area
Auditory signals received in the brainstem are relayed there; separate incoming information, differentiating significant linguistic information from non-significant noise
Broca’s area
may also be responsible for attending to syntax, processing discrete units, and further analysis of phonological information passed along by Heschl’s gyrus
Wernicke’s area
Incoming information undergoes linguistic analysis there in the left temporal lobe
angular gyrus and the supramarginal gyrus
assist in linguistic processing and integrating visual, auditory, and tactile information
angular gyrus
Written input is received in the visual cortex and transferred to this where it may be integrated with auditory input; it is then transmitted to Wernicke’s area for analysis
Supramarginal gyrus
processes longer syntactic structures
temporal lobe
Semantic analysis and lexicon storage in centered in this lobe
frontal lobe
directs the process and evaluates the information coming from Wernicke’s area where the semantic processing actually occurs
hippocampus
Prior to storage, incoming information is transmitted to the hippocampus in the left temporal lobe for consolidation.
temporal lobe
The storage of word meanings is diffusely located, centered primarily in this lobe
Language Production
The conceptual basis of a message forms in one of the many memory areas of the cortex.
arcuate fasciculus
a white matter tract underlying the angular gyrus
Broca’s area
responsible for detailing and coordinating speech programming
information processing
The way incoming information is processed represents the voluntary problem‐solving strategies of each person
information processing system
This system includes cognitive processes involved in attention, discrimination, organization, memory, concept formation, problem-solving and transfer, and executive function
Attention
awareness of a learning situation and active cognitive processing
Orientation
the ability to sustain attention over time
Reaction
the amount of time required for an individual to respond to a stimulus
mediational strategies
a symbol forms a link to some information
associative strategies
one symbol is linked to another
Memory
the ability to recall information previously learned and stored; best when linguistic information is deep processed, which includes semantic interpretation/elaboration and relating to prior experience/knowledge
Transfer and Generalization
Taking past learned information and applying that knowledge to novel situations or new learning
Top-Down Processing
is conceptually-driven, or affected by expectations about incoming information.
–The bottom level operates on a shallow analysis of perception that is not demanding.
–Top levels operate on include extraction and synthesis.
Bottom-up processing
is data-driven
–Bottom level-analysis occurs at the levels of sound and syllable discrimination
–Upward level-analysis related to recognition and comprehension.
Passive Processing
Based on recognizing patterns of information.
–Incoming data are analyzed in fragments until enough information can be combined to be recognized as a pattern.
Active Processing
Based on recognizing patterns of information.
–Involves using a comparative strategy that matches input with a previously stored or a generated pattern or mental model.
Serial Processing
Located in the left frontal and temporal lobes, serial processes analyze information at one level and then pass it on to the next level.
–Successive processing is more precise, but it takes more of the brain’s processing potential and is relatively slow
Parallel Processing
Located in the occipital and parietal association areas and possibly the RH, parallel processing deals with underlying meaning and relationships at the same time.
–Parallel processing accesses multiple levels of analysis at the same time.
Executive Function
Processed in the Frontal Lobe •Organization •Prediction •Attention •Regulation
Neuroscience
the study of neuroanatomy, or where structures are located
Neurophysiology
how the brain functions.
Neurolinguistics
the study of the neuroanatomy, physiology, and biochemistry of language
