speech and language Flashcards

1
Q

what is language + what used for (2)

A

arbitrary symbols with specific meanings to (a) refer to the outside world, and (b) express ideas, feelings, desires and emotions

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2
Q

is the brain hardwired for language

A
  1. seem to be born with circuits prepared for oral language
  2. written language is learned and recycles some of the preexisting circuits (of oral language)
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3
Q

brain area linking sounds and meanings

A

left temporal and parietal -> wernicke’s area

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4
Q

brain area organizing production of meaningful speech through motor commands

A

left frontal -> broca’s area

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5
Q

brain area responsible for emotional content of speech

A

right hemisphere

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6
Q

elements needed to produce written and oral language (3)

A
  1. motor control of speech production
  2. auditory and visual perception
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7
Q

levels of language (5)

A
  1. phonetics -> set of unitary sounds used to form symbols (phonemes)
  2. grammar -> rules for use of symbol
  3. syntax -> ordering of symbols to create meaning
  4. semantics -> associating symbols with meaning
  5. prosody -> emotional valence by varying intensity, pitch, rhythm
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8
Q

timeline of language development (5)

A
  1. 1st year (universalists) -> sensitive to phonemes; can discern slight acoustic changes
  2. start imitating sounds around 20 wks
  3. 6 months -> phonetic prototypes
  4. after 1y -> neural commitment to mother tongue (formation of speech-motor patterns)
  5. 3y -> ~1000 words, sentences, conversation
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9
Q

when does capacity to distinguish phonemes decline

A

before onset of first words (by end of 1st year)

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10
Q

period of best acquisition of 2nd language

A

<7 years

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11
Q

definition of critical period for language + ex of critical periods

A

moment when brain is plastic for learning (extended neural modification supporting behavior) -> 2nd half of 1st year (phonetic learning); first 7 years (language acquisition)

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12
Q

what does language acquisition depend on (2)

A
  1. experience
  2. time
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13
Q

area next to broca’s area + what does it do

A

primary motor cortex -> moves phonatory muscles

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14
Q

area next to wernicke’s area + what does it do

A

primary auditory cortex -> processes auditory input

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15
Q

what connects broca and wernicke’s areas

A

arcuate fasciculus

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16
Q

brain area involved in word meaning

A

temporal lobe

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17
Q

effect of lesion to any language area

A

aphasia

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18
Q

broca’s aphasia (7)

A
  1. affects ability to produce language efficiently
  2. nonfluent, effortful language
  3. preserved comprehension
  4. impaired repetition
  5. deficiency in motor planning
  6. disrupted organizational aspects of language
  7. sometimes right hemiparesis
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19
Q

other names for (a) broca’s aphasia (b) wernicke’s aphasia

A

(a) motor or expressive aphasia
(b) sensory or receptive aphasia

20
Q

wernicke’s aphasia (5)

A
  1. affects ability to understand spoken language (impaired comprehension)
  2. fluent, well articulated/structured
  3. abundant, but non-sensical speech
  4. repetition impaired
  5. difficulty putting together objects or ideas with meaning
21
Q

aphasias (7)

A
  1. broca’s
  2. wernicke’s
  3. conduction aphasia
  4. alexia
  5. agraphia
  6. dysarthria
  7. hypergraphia
22
Q

brain area activated by written language

A

left vwfa

23
Q

what does written language involve

A

production and interpretation of visual symbols

24
Q

activity in vwfa in dyslexic people

A

decreased activity in vwfa

25
Q

dyslexia

A

learning disorder involving difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words

26
Q

intelligence of dyslexic people

A

normal or above normal

27
Q

problems that can occur with/because of dyslexia (2)

A

writing and spelling (errors of transposition)

28
Q

what allowed assessing the function of the left and right hemis separately

A

severing of anterior commissure and cc (split brain patients)

29
Q

what did split brain patients confirm

A

language is lateralized

30
Q

split brain patients: wo visual cues, identify object in (a) right hand, (b) left hand

A

(a) easily name object in right hand
(b) fail to produce verbal account or only produce indirect description

31
Q

split brain patients: show word or object in (a) LVF (b) RVF

A

(a) cannot read word or identify object
(b) can read word and identify object

32
Q

brain area where sign language functions in congenitally deaf people

A

similar cortical areas (broca and wernicke) -> but specialized for symbolic representation and communication (instead of hearing and speech)

33
Q

left hemi functions (5)

A
  1. analysis of RVF
  2. stereognosis (right hand)
  3. lexical and syntactic language
  4. writing
  5. speech
34
Q

right hemi functions (5)

A
  1. analysis of LVF
  2. stereognosis (left hand)
  3. emotional coloring of language
  4. spatial abilities
  5. rudimentary speech
35
Q

language deficits after right hemi damage

A

loss of normal rhythm, stress and tonal variation of speech (prosody)

36
Q

brain areas affected in aprosodias

A

broca and wernicke areas in right hemi

37
Q

wada test

A

short-acting anesthetic injected into left carotid artery to transiently anesthetize left hemi -> if left dominant for language, patient becomes transiently aphasic

38
Q

less invasive tests of hemispheric lateralization (4)

A
  1. pet
  2. fmri
  3. tms
  4. tachistoscopic stimulus presentations
39
Q

why does focal damage to temporal lobe sometimes lead to deficits for specific categories of objects

A

because distinct regions of temporal cortex are activated by language tasks involving specific categories

40
Q

ways aspects of language can be organized (2)

A
  1. categories of meaning
  2. individual words
41
Q

semantic categories depend on

A

features of word -> motor, sensory, abstract

42
Q

features of concrete words depend on

A

experience when learning the word - overlap bw conceptual and perceptual systems

43
Q

embodied semantics

A

way store memory linked to sensory processing (and experience?)

44
Q

congenitally deaf patients with lesions to (a) right hemi (b) left hemi (broca’s and wernicke’s)

A

(a) deficits in emotional tone of signing
(b) deficits in sign production and understanding

45
Q

how is the way songbirds learn songs similar to the way humans learn language (4)

A
  1. sensory acquisition through tutor
  2. vocal learning through practicing
  3. acoustically stable (crystallized song)
  4. regional dialects
46
Q

how can animals communicate

A

ability to associate specific meanings with arbitrary symbols

47
Q

how is human communication similar to animal communication

A

inherent and acquired neural associations bw tokens and meanings of other animal communication