The anatomy of language - BL1 Flashcards
Which hemisphere is dominant for most language functions? Who can be different in this?
left
30% of left handers are the other way round
At which side can you present an object and it will be identified quicker?
the right visual field
When do split brain patients have a problem with object naming?
When it is presented only in the right visual field
How does word recognition differ based on visual field presentation? (3)
- left visual side is slower to react in general
- right side is more correct
- left side is impacted more by the number of letters in the word
Where are speech and music more dominant?
- speech = left hemisphere
- music = right hemisphere
In which lobe is language stuff mostly in?
the left temporal lobe
Which areas do sound analysis? (2)
Wernickes and the auditory cortex
How does information travel through the brain? (2)
- white matter tracts
- axonal connections to different parts of the brain
Which pathways does language mainly use?
inferior and superior longitudinal fasciculus
What does the arcuate do?
connects the top of the temporal lobe with Broca’s area in the front of the brain (closes the pathway loop)
What is the temporal lobe involved in the processing of and which stream is it on?
- meaning
- ventral stream
What is the dorsal stream involved in?
the production of speech
What is the angular gyrus involved in and what is it connected to?
phonological information
connected to the auditory cortex
How do both processes get involved when you process the meaning of a sound?
- dorsal stores the sound
- ventral processes the meaning
Where does speech information arrive at?
the primary auditory cortex (both left and right)
What does the left hemisphere do with speech sounds? (2)
- extracts sound identity
- involved in fine grained perceptual analysis
What can damage to the left auditory cortex result in?
impairments of speech sound identification (pure word deafness)
What are familiar words understood through and which route does this?
meaning activation in the ventral route
How does information tend to travel in the ventral route?
auditory cortex to the temporal lobe and also into Broca’s area
What route does sound repetition engage? Why?
the dorsal route
no meaning is activated, it is just a sound
What damage could cause a patient to respond with ‘might, family, fish’ when asked to repeat back ‘night, marriage and thing’?
- dorsal = hear one thing and say another
- ventral = semantic error
How much is hemispheric asymmetry decided by genetics?
25%
When will babies begin to suck on a dominant thumb?
in utero
What is built-in plasticity? (2)
- sensory input can shape development
- if you miss one of the senses then you will have a different shape/function of your brain
How do white matter tracts change with age? (2)
they increase
more and wider connections are made within the brain
Why might babies already have a more developed dorsal pathway in the left than the right?
we don’t know, but it is possibly a preparation for language
What happens to grey matter over time?
increase to adolescence then decrease after that
What are 2 types of individual-specific experiences that can shape brain networks?
- acquired skills
- sensory deprivation
How did white matter differ between children who were in the orphanage, in foster care or in typical families (bucharest)? (2)
not significantly different between foster care and typical families
significantly more matter in typical families than orphanage
How did grey matter differ between children who were in the orphanage, in foster care or in typical families (bucharest)? (2)
significantly more in typical families than orphanage and foster care (which were similar to each other)
At what age does placement in foster care show modest improvements according to the Bucharest early intervention project?
2
What can blind individuals use their occipital lobe for?
stuff like auditory information to allow for echolocation
