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Neuroscience > Week 10: Language > Flashcards

Week 10: Language Flashcards

1
Q

What is language?

A

▪Sharing of ideas through symbols
▪Cultural evolution
▪Not just speech
▪Subject to (grammatical) rules
▪Unique to humans?

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2
Q

Can chimpanzees be taught language?

A

▪ Attempts to teach speech/sounds (Gua and Viki projects) unsuccessful
▪ Larynx higher and closer to mouth
▪ Restricts possible range of sounds
▪ Gestures may be used in a more sophisticated way
Study in Twycross zoo indicates they imitate and learn from each other

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3
Q

Can they be taught sign language?

A
  • Washoe (1965-2007): wild chimpanzee captured for use in the US space program
  • First chimpanzee to learn ASL
    • Taught some to her son
    • Combined signs into novel combinations in response to her environment when there wasn’t an equivalent known sign e.g. signing “water” and “bird” upon seeing a swan
  • Whether these are truly combined for a single meaning or consecutive is contentious (e.g. did they mix the words to creatively say swan? Or did he just see a bird and water?)
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4
Q

How many signs Washoe

A

Learn ~350 sign

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5
Q

Interpretations on Washoe and mates

A
  • Emotion/empathy
    • When she was told about one of the keepers taking time off work for a personal loss, Washoe signed “cry” by running a finger down her cheek (chimpanzees do not produce tears)
    • Self-awareness
    • When presented with a mirror and asked what she could see, she responded “me, Washoe”

However has not been replicated successfully…

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6
Q

Most of our understanding about language (speech) comes from observing brain injuries…

A

E.g. Broca & Tan, his patient

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7
Q

Lateralisation: What side is language? For what percentage of people?

A

▪ Language is (mostly) lateralised

▪ Left is dominant for speech in 90% of population

▪ Right side dominant in 27% of left-handed people and 15% ambidextrous but only 4% righthanded people

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8
Q

A combination of hemispheres

A

▪ The opposite (usually right) plays an important role in speech and language

▪ Perception, memories, etc

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9
Q

Split brain recap

A

▪ Surgical cutting of the corpus callosum

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10
Q

Communication

A

▪ Language production requires multiple factors
▪ Something to communicate
* Perception, Memory, Story
▪ Sensory input(s)
▪ Muscular movement
➢ So multiple brain regions implicated

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11
Q

Broca’s area

A

Important to language production

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12
Q

Wernicke’s area

A

Important in language comprehension

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13
Q

Angular gyrus

A
  • Angular gyrus - helps interpret sounds & visual cues
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14
Q

Language: primary motor cortex

A

Also fine motor skills

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15
Q

Auditory and visual cortex

A

sends info to the Wernickes area to help with comprehension

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16
Q

Wernicke-Geschwind model:

A

Wernicke-Geschwind model involves these areas:
- Primary auditory cortex (1stly signals here sent to Wernicke’s)
- Arcuate fasiculus then sends signal to Broca’s area
- Primary motor cortex next to generate response

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17
Q

Wernicke-Geschwind model: (video notes)

A
  • Highly localised language in left hemisphere
    • Motor theory of lateralisation theory: left hemisphere controls fine movements such as those required to produce speech
    • Broca’s area - links to motor functions associated with speech production (damage = impaired speech)
      Wernicke’s area - responsible for the understanding of language (damage = impaired ability to understand language)
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18
Q

Wernicke-Geschwind model involves these areas: When reading aloud

A
  • info sent to primary visual cortex
    - Then to angular gyrus for auditory signal
    - Wernicke’s area next for comprehension
    (then it follows the same path already outlined:)
    - Primary auditory cortex (1stly signals here sent to Wernicke’s)
    - Arcuate fasiculus then sends signal to Broca’s area
    Primary motor cortex next to generate response
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19
Q

Facial movement

A

▪ Cranial nerve:
▪ V (trigeminal),
▪ VII (facial),
▪ VIII (vestibulocochlear),
▪ IX (glossopharyngeal),
▪ X (vagus), and
▪ XII (hypoglossal)

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20
Q

Describing consonants: Voicing

A

(vibration = it is voiced., e.g. ‘z’)

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21
Q

Place of articulation

A

involves a constriction of air flow (bilabial, labiodental, interdental, alveolar, palatal, velar, glottal)

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22
Q

Manner of articulation

A

involves how the airflow is constricted (stop, fricative)

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23
Q

Language comprehension

A

▪ The brain works like a dictionary (the words are first sensed)
▪ Audio and visual

 ▪ Memories associated with words are activated (via posterior language area)  ▪ Language also includes more complex, abstract meaning like metaphors
24
Q

Metaphors

A

▪ Comprehension likely involves more of right hemisphere

“People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”

	* Experimental research suggests right superior temporal cortex 

	* Transcranial magnetic stimulation impaired ability to infer meaning of novel metaphors  * Supported by fMRI studies
25
Q

Bilingualism

A

▪Majority of people in the world are bilingual or multilingual
▪Different languages are processed by different areas of the brain (tested on bilingual people just about to undergo surgery)
* Some overlapping
* Primary or secondary language specific regions

26
Q

Benefits of bilingualism

A
  • Learning language in childhood easier due to plasticity
    - Higher density of neurones when learning language
    - Can delay the onset of dementia/ altzimers
    Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex - involved in problem solving & executive function
27
Q

Voice recognition: Prosody

A

(prosodic cues)

	▪ Intonation and emphasis to convey meaning
28
Q

Voice recognition

A

▪Speech conveys information beyond the meaning of the words
▪E.g., age and gender
▪Specific voices of individuals

29
Q

Phonoagnosia

A

can’t recognise voices
Accent, intonation, etc

30
Q

Aphasia

A

▪ Loss or impairment of language comprehension or production
▪ Difficulties in language function not always attributable to impairment of the speech or writing production apparatus (muscles of the tongue and throat, or peripheral sensory loss)
▪ Also damage to brain centres moderating language functions

31
Q

Forms of Aphasia: Broca’s

A
  • Non-fluent (where as the rest of the types are fluent)
  • “content” words are still used (e.g., nouns, verbs)
  • “function” words are more difficult (e.g., a, the, in)
    • Can use phrases such as ‘yes’ and ‘no’
    • Can use curse words (often due to frustration)
    • Can use non-language emotional expression
      They may also represent the language contribution of the right hemisphere
32
Q

Conduction aphasia

A

Cannot repeat words, particularly non-words

33
Q

Wernicke’s aphasia

A

Fluent but cannot understand

34
Q

Anomic aphasia

A

Patients can’t name specific objects (but can use other words to describe objects)

35
Q

Broca 1861-1865: Patient Tan

A
  • Cavity left frontal lobe filled with fluid
      * Patient can comprehend but not express speech
  • Speech is associated with left hemisphere
36
Q

Broca’s or non-fluent aphasia: damage to what region?

A

▪ Damage to the inferior left frontal lobe and underlying subcortical white matter

▪ Comprehension of speech is intact

▪ Speech is slow, non fluent, costs effort
37
Q

Other aspects of broca’s aphasia

A
  • Left frontal lobe: usually right sided hemiplegia (total paralysis limbs and trunk usually due to stroke)
      - Spiralises of function Damage to motor central areas of the left hemisphere results in extreme motor impairment: poor writing
38
Q

Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Test: (example of Broca’s aphasia

A

‘kid…kk…can…candy…cookie….candy… well I don’t know but it’s writ…easy does it… slam….early…fall…men…many no…girl. Dishes…soap…soap…water… water… falling pah that’s all..dish..that’s all. Cookies..can…candy..cookies cookies..he…down..That’s all. Girl..slipping water..water..and it hurts..

39
Q

3 speech deficits of Broca’s

A

Agrammatism

Anomia

Articulation problems

40
Q

Agrammatism

A

difficulty in use of grammatical constructions (e.g.,-ed, have) but also word order to decode sentence

41
Q

Anomia

A

Word-finding difficulties (function words)

42
Q

Articulation problems

A

Mispronunciations, often alter the sequence of sounds

43
Q

Conduction aphasia

A

▪ Characterised by meaningful fluent speech and comprehension, but poor repetition

▪ Extreme difficulties repeating lists of words (although related words may be repeated)

▪ May replace word they are asked to repeat with another with the same meaning

44
Q

Conduction aphasia: cause

A

Caused by damage to pathway between Broca and Wernicke area responsible for conveying sound – arcuate fasciculus

▪ Instead, use second pathway which conveys meaning

* Hearing sentence evokes imagery, which allows individual to describe the meaning but using different words
		§ Arcuate fasciculus damage = inability to repeat non-words Fusion between legions
45
Q

Reading: Requirements to be diagnosed with aphasia

A

Caused by brain damage: e.g. cannot be aphasia if can’t speak due to being deaf

Relatively isolated; must be able to understand that something is attempted to be communicated, and aware of env

46
Q

Reading: Broca’s aphasia: region of damage

A

Left frontal lobe

(speech production)

Can alternatively use sign language

47
Q

Reading: Wernicke’s aphasia: Brain region

A

left temporal gyrus

(comprehension deficit)

Struggle to comprehend signs too, so sign lang may not be effective

48
Q

Lateralisation: Where do most language deficits occur?

A

On the left side of the brain, whether people are left or right handed

49
Q

What % of population is the left side dominant for lang?

A

90%

50
Q

Kneche et al (2000) found what? Right handed? Ambidextrius? Left handed?

A

right hemisphere speech dominance was seen in:

4% of right handed people;

15% of ambidextrious people;

27% of left handed people

51
Q

Reading: Split brain operation

A
  • Cutting corpus collosum
    • Cannot exchange info from hemispheres

e.g. putting down a book with the left hand, even if they had been reading it with interest (bcus the right hemisphere, controlling the left hand, can’t read = boring)

52
Q

Reading: Lang production: Deciding what to talk about involves what?

A

When deciding what to discuss, if the event happened in the past it will come from posterior parts of the hemispheres (occipital, temporal and peripheral lobes - & prefrontal cortex)

53
Q

Language comprehension: 2 types of entries?

A

auditory and visual

Like a dictionary, can look up the word according to how it sounds

54
Q

Lang comprehension: Where is sound taken in?

A
  • Wenicke’s area (in the auditory association cortex of left hemisphere) takes in the sounds
    • Is possible to produce speech with wernicke’s damage, but does not make sense to the listener often

Memories associated with the word are activated!!

55
Q

Where do we comprehend metaphors?

A

Superior temporal cortex

(although research found new metaphors were processed here, if damaged, previously known metaphors could be understood. With damage, new metaphors were not understood.)

Neuroscience (22 decks)

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