1. Insights from Neurolinguistics
Language and the brain
Insights from Neurolinguistics

2. Basic concepts of Neurology
Brain and spinal cord constitute the central nervous system (CNS)
Purpose: Communication
Cellular unit of the nervous system: neurons
CNS consists of about 12 billion neurons.
Brain consists of about 10 billion neurons.
Brain stem is the control system
Regulates breathing, muscle movement, sleep, body temperature etc.

3. Modularity and Localization
Phrenology (Gall, 1796)

4. Basic concepts of Neurology
Brain consists of two hemispheres
Right side controls left body side and vice versa
Dichotic listening tests
Hemispheres are connected through Corpus callosum
Language is a left hemisphere phenomenon

5. Pioneers of Neurolinguistics
Paul Broca (French surgeon and anatomist)
Research on brain damage
Broca’s area
Broca’s aphasia
Carl Wernicke (German physician)
Confirmed theory of left hemisphere
Wernicke’s area
Wernicke’s aphasia

6. Aphasia and locality

7. Broca’s aphasia
What language impairments are found in Broca's aphasia?
Nonfluent, labored, and hesitant speech
absence of function words and inflectional morphology,
short utterances,
relatively intact comprehension,
awareness of deficit.

8. Wernicke's Aphasia
The language symptoms of Wernicke's aphasia are complementary to those of Broca's aphasia.
fluent but empty speech,
grammatical inflections, normal prosody
utterances of normal length
poor comprehension
unaware of deficit.

9. Goodglass, H. , & Kaplan, E. (1983)
Goodglass, H., & Kaplan, E. (1983). Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination. (2nd ed.). Media, PA: Williams & Wilkins.

10. BROCA’S APHASIA
“Cookie jar…fall over…chair…water…empty…ov…ov…[Examin er: “overflow?”] Yeah.”
Heny, Jeannine. “Brain and Language (Clark, ).

11. WERNICKE’S APHASIA
Well, this is…mother is away here workingout o’here to get her better, but when she’s working, the two boys looking in the other part. One their small tile into her time here. She’s working another time because she’s getting, too.”
Heny, Jeannine. “Brain and Language (Clark, ).

12. Signer Aphasia Young man, both spoken and sign language:
Accident and damage to brain
Both spoken and sign languages are affected
Deaf-mute person, sign language:
Stroke and damage to left-side of the brain
Impairment in sign language

13. Language and brain development
Language learning and brain development go hand in hand.
Children need to be exposed to language early.
Brain is resilient:
Early damage can cause right hemisphere to take over language control.
Connection to CPH- brain development takes place at a young age and is complete before puberty.

14. The critical period hypothesis
Explain how Genie’s language development fits into the theories of Lenneberg, Chomsky and brain development.
According to this text, what is the strongest evidence supporting the theory of a “critical period” for language acquisition?
Was Genie’s early language deprivation the ONLY factor that contributed to her abnormal language development? Explain what other factor(s) might have been involved.
2. Left hemisphere underdeveloped. Cannot acquire grammar.