Language Sunday, March 7, 2021 1:36 PM - A shared symbolic system for communication - Symbolic ? Units that reference something - Shared ? Common among a group - Used to comminate ? Translate thoughts - Languages adapt to their environment ? Function of environment and culture ? Morphology (complexity) decreases with languages spoken by more people · Accessible to more people ? Sound system is affected by climate, affecting lexical tones Tones languages relate to humid and warmer climates " Producing tones is more difficult when the air is dry Language and the brain Aphasia - impaired language function form brain injury - Used as evidence of functional specializations of language in the brain - Different aspects of the language are processed in separate regions of the brain, idea that language expression and understanding are processed by different neural networks - Aphasia -- > Broca's or Wernicke's, or (rare) conduction - Broca's - expressive aphasia, decreased fluency ? Speech comprehension is relatively intact ? Selective problem with producing language fluently ? Determined by damage in left inferior frontal gyrus - Broca's area ? Spectrum of damage -- meaningful or all forms of speech ? Patient Tan Result of epilepsy Intact mental functioning · Could only speak one syllable -- tan
· Still tried to communicate via gestures, tone , inflections " Large lesion in the posterior inferior frontal gyrus · Damage is not limited to speech ? Fewer sign language use ? Deficits in producing language - Wernicke's - receptive aphasia, decreased comprehension Damage to the superior temporal lobe · Impairments understanding or comprehending speech with intact ability to produce speech o Produces random but fluent speech with a lot of non-words or invented words o Patients are often unaware of their deficit o Paraphasias (symptom) " Language output error Verbal: substitute a word with something semantically related ? Shares meaning with intended word Phonemic: substitute or add speech sounds ? Shares sounds with intended words · Neologisms: substitute with a made up word ? Real world example -- webinar, staycation - Conduction aphasia ? Disconnection between Broca's and Wernicke's area -- pathway o Intact speech comprehension o Intact speech production ? Impaired speech repetition due to disconnection between language production and comprehension ? cannot transmit information between those areas Improving language function - Neuroplasticity in the brain after a left hemisphere stroke can help recover language function - Left hemisphere supports the language more than the right ? Areas around the damage area can be recruited to over take language function ? The right hemisphere can be recruited to overtake language function - TMS or tDCS (brain stimulation) can promote activity in these damages areas