psycholinguistics Mrs. Asmaa Alfageeh

- What is Psycholinguistics? Psycholinguistics is the study of the psychological and neurobiological factors that enable humans to acquire, use, comprehend and produce language. The brain controls all behavior, including language. How the brain controls language is studied by neurolinguists and is addressed in this subject.

The cerebral cortex Of the various parts of the human brain, the cerebral cortex is most heavily involved in language and other cognitive functions and hence interests us most. The cerebral cortex is covering the brain. It is under the skull.

The cerebral cortex The cortex is divided into two hemisphere that have different but complementary functions. The lift hemisphere (LH) tends to process information sequentially and analytically. The right hemisphere (RH) wholistically. The two hemispheres are linked by several bands of nerve fibers, the largest of which is the corpus callosum.

The cerebral cortex

Each hemisphere is divided into four lobes, and each lobe contains areas for specialized functions. 1- the frontal lobe. 2- the temporal lobe. 3- the parietal lobe. 4- the occipital lobe.

The frontal lobe: The frontal lobe contains areas that control movements, judgment and foresight. It also contains a language area called Broca’s area. Broca’s area is thought to store and program speech production.

:The parietal lobe The parietal lobe contains an area which is involved in general body sensation, and it has a language area called the angular gyrus.  Written words are translated to internal monologue via the angular gyrus.

The temporal lobe: The temporal lobe contains an area which is involved in hearing, and it contains a language area called Wernicke’s area. Wernicke’s area is thought to store and interpret auditory speech.

The occipital lobe: The occipital lobe contains the visual cortex which processes visual information.

Left hemisphere VS Right hemisphere: lateralization of function Many functions are lateralized; most people are right- handed or left-handed, - eared or –eyed. Their language and nonlanguage functions are represented mainly in one or other hemisphere. LH specializes in language functions. RH specializes in a wide range of nonverbal functions; such as the perception of sounds and visual images. Some specialized processing modes and linguistic materials preferred by the two hemispheres.

Left hemisphere VS Right hemisphere: lateralization of function Distribution of LH and RH language LEFT-HANDERS RIGHT-HANDERS LANGUAGE 61.4% 95.5% In LH 18.8 4.5 In RH 19.8 --- Bilateral

Left hemisphere VS Right hemisphere: specialization of the LH and RH Right Hemisphere (RH) Left hemisphere (LH) Processing Mode Simultaneous Sequential Wholistic Analytic Imagistic Verbal Intuitive Logical Linguistic material Imagery Verbal rehearsal Receptive vocabulary Syntax Prosody Speech output Single logograph Phonetic letter Pragmatic, contextual Literal

Left hemisphere VS Right hemisphere

Left hemisphere VS Right hemisphere

Psychological Measures Some psychological measures are used with patients about to undergo brain surgery to figure out which hemisphere controls language. These measurements are: Wada test (EEG) electroencephalogram (rCBF) regional cerebral blood flow (PET) positron emission tomography

Psychological Measures Why it is important to figure out which hemisphere controls language by using one of these measurements with patients about to undergo brain surgery? Because any damage to any area of the brain will cause problems in the functions that area processes. Thus, that helps doctors or surgeons to be more careful with the hemisphere that controls language, and not to cause any damage to any area has a linguistic function.

Aphasia Aphasia is the name given to a collection of language disorders which have in common that they are caused by damage to the brain. E. g. Broca’s aphasia or nonfluent aphasia, and Wernick’s aphasia or fluent aphasia

Broca’s Aphasia or Nonfluent Aphasia A damage to the Broca’s area is associated with disruption to the ability to speak because it is resposible for speech production. Broca’s aphasia is characterized by the loss of the ability to produce language (spoken or written). You can watch a case of Broca’s aphasia, from the link below, Sara Scott – teenage stroke survivor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aplTvEQ6ew

Wernick’s aphasia or fluent aphasia Because the Wernicke's area, which is responsible for language comprehension, is damaged, Wernicke’s aphasia patients cannot convey or receive the meaning of the language they hear or read. You can watch a case of Wernicke’s aphasia from the link below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKTdMV6cOZw

Broca’s Aphasia VS Wernick’s Apasia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iHDF5twkcE

Your teacher Mrs. Asmaa Alfageeh You can e-mail me if you needed anything Asma.alfageeh@gmail.com Ahfqeh@uqu.edu.sa