DOCSLIB.ORG

Neurobiology of Language Steven L

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Neurobiology of Language Steven L CHAPTER 1 The Neurobiology of Language Steven L. Small1 and Gregory Hickok2 1Department of Neurology, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA; 2Department of Cognitive Sciences, Center for Language Science, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA 1.1 HISTORY For many centuries, the biological basis of human thought has been an important focus of attention in medi- cine, with particular interest in the brain basis of language sparked by the famous patients of Pierre Paul Broca in the mid 19th century (Broca, 1861a,c). The patient Louis Victor LeBorgne (Domanski, 2013)presentedtotheHoˆpital Biceˆtre in Paris with severe difficulty speaking, purport- edly only uttering the syllable “tan,” sometimes as a pair “tan, tan,” and often accompanied by gestures (Domanski, 2013). The diagnosis was not clear until autopsy, when Broca found on gross inspection that some neurological process (he reported a resulting collection of serous fluid) had destroyed a portion of the left posterior inferior frontal FIGURE 1.1 The exterior surface of the brain of LeBorgne (“tan”). gyrus (Broca, 1861c)(Figure 1.1). A subsequent patient, LeLong, had a similar paucity of speech output (five Wernicke (1874), the diagram-making of Lichtheim words were reported) with a lesion not dissimilar to that (1885) (Figure 1.2) and Grashey (1885), the anatomy of of LeBorgne (Broca, 1861a). Given the ongoing debates at De´jerine (1895), and of course many other contributors. the time about brain localization of language, including In the past century, Norman Geschwind recapitulated attribution of the “seat of language” to the frontal and added to the language “center” models that pre- lobes (Auburtin, 1861; Bouillaud, 1825; Gall & ceded him and presented a reconceptualized “connec- Spurtzheim, 1809)—which led Broca to investigate this tionist” view of the brain mechanisms of language case in the first place—he presented this patient with (Geschwind, 1965, 1970). Whereas the 19th century “aphe´mie” (LeBorgne) to the Socie´te´ d’Anthropologie de investigators relied on simple views of behavior and Paris in 1861 (Broca, 1861b). These brains remain pre- postmortem brain pathology, those of the mid to late served to this day, and brain imaging studies have con- 20th century were able to take advantage of significant firmed the original findings and extended them to advances in both the study of behavior (information pro- demonstrate lesions to deeper structures (Signoret, cessing psychology and formal linguistic theory), allow- Castaigne, Lhermitte, Abelanet, & Lavorel, 1984)andto ing much more robust characterizations of language white matter underlying the original descriptions performance than had been possible previously (Dronkers, Plaisant, Iba-Zizen, & Cabanis, 2007). (Caramazza & Berndt, 1978; Chomsky, 1965), and the technology of structural brain imaging with computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), 1.2 LESION ANALYSIS permitting the elucidation of brain pathology in vivo (e.g., Cappa & Vignolo, 1983; Metter et al., 1984). These The era of brain localization for language blossomed advances led to a blossoming of brain lesion analysis after this, with the famous doctoral dissertation of (neuropsychological) studies in the second half of the Neurobiology of Language. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-407794-2.00001-8 3 © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 4 1. THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE Concept brain and behavior. Although the earliest functional ana- field tomical studies were conducted with positron emission tomography, the most recent work uses functional mag- netic resonance imaging (fMRI), a noninvasive approach that does not require intravenous administration of 4 6 radioactive agents. These methods permit the investiga- tion in vivo of brain regions that participate in the perfor- mance of any type of task that can be performed inside 3 Broca’s Wernicke’s of an imaging machine. By contrast, task-dependent area area electroencephalography (EEG), more commonly known 1 2 as “event-related potentials” (ERP), permits the charac- terization of temporal aspects of task performance. An 57important, if less commonly used, method for analyzing task-dependent brain function is magnetoencephalo- graphy (MEG), which can have finer spatial resolution Peripheral Peripheral than EEG and higher temporal resolution than fMRI, speech auditory and thus can play a particularly important role in charac- production input terizing brain processing over time. Besides these methods of activating the brain, the method of transcra- FIGURE 1.2 Lichtheim’s model. Note the emphasis on brain anatomy. nial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can be used to create “reversible lesions” in the brain. The majority of contem- porary research in brain behavior relations for language À 20th century (for reviews, see Damasio & Damasio, 1989; uses either the older method of lesion analysis or one of Kertesz, 1983; Shallice, 1988a). Recent advances in image these newer methods of functional activation (fMRI, analysis (e.g., Ashburner & Friston, 2000; Bates et al., ERP, MEG) or ablation (TMS). Intracranial electrical 2003) have improved the lesion analysis method, and it recordings in humans undergoing elective brain surgery, continues to be a valuable method for biological inqui- including both surface (electrocorticography) and deep, ries in language. are becoming more commonplace. A host of other less By their very nature, lesion analysis studies tend to prevalent methods also play valuable roles. relate single foci of brain injury to single psychological Approximately 20 years ago, the burgeoning use of or linguistic phenomena. The goal of the enterprise is to these brain measurement techniques to study psychologi- “double dissociate” functions and brain regions, such cal and linguistic processes led to the creation of a new that an underlying focal substrate of brain can be tied field of cognitive neuroscience. During its existence, this unequivocally to a single function (and not another) field has evolved into an important discipline, with the (e.g., Damasio & Tranel, 1993) or to a specific “locus” in majority of top cognitive programs (and some neurosci- a cognitive or linguistic model (e.g., Garrard & Hodges, ence programs) incorporating cognitive neuroscience as 2000; Shallice, 1988b). Although not without its contro- an important component of curriculum and, in some versy (e.g., Plaut, 1995), this approach has been quite cases, degree-granting status. Importantly, the evolution successful in giving insights into the neurobiology of of this discipline has focused more on using biological language, that is, attributing functions to aspects of the methods than on asking biological questions, for exam- brain (in this case, brain areas damaged by vascular ple, addressing linguistic or psychological questions by lesions—or sometimes other types of lesions). measuring brain responses constitutes a significant por- tion—if not the majority—of scientific studies in this area. In other words, the fraction of studies that develop and 1.3 FROM NEUROPSYCHOLOGY TO test “linking hypotheses” between neural and computa- COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE tional systems is smaller than one would hope for in a field that targets an understanding of the relation between The advent of high-resolution functional brain mind and brain. Addressing biological issues is far less imaging in the past decade of the 20th century (e.g., Fox, common in this field, and most practitioners of this Raichle, & Thach, 1985; Raichle, Martin, & Herscovitch, discipline neither study biology nor concern themselves 1983), its initial applications to the study of language with biological questions. Students in this area are (Petersen, Fox, Posner, Mintun, & Raichle, 1988, 1989), typically not required to study cellular and molecular and its widespread acceptance for the study of brain/ neuroscience, and only a portion study systems neurosci- cognition relations in the early part of this century ence, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, or neurology/ have dramatically changed the conduct of studies of neuropsychology. Of course, it is also true that from the A. INTRODUCTION 1.5 SOME COMMON FALLACIES 5 biological side, students and researchers are not typically that the human brain evolved from that of nonhuman required to study linguistics or experimental psychology. primates, and thus the study of other species plays Despite this high prevalence of nonbiological studies of an important role in the investigations of the neurobiol- cognition using brain measurement, it has become ogy of language (Bornkessel-Schlesewsky, Schlesewsky, increasingly clear that the new methods of functional Small, & Rauschecker, 2015). brain imaging, along with other methods of human and A number of brain imaging methods are used for the animal neuroscience, provide new avenues to investigate neurobiology of cognition but do not play a significant the actual biological substrate and computations for role in cognitive neuroscience. An enormous amount of human language. information about the neurobiology of language has been gleaned from high-resolution quantitative struc- tural imaging of both gray matter and white matter. For 1.4 THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF the gray matter, it is possible to measure precisely and LANGUAGE accurately whole brain and regional volumes, and for white matter, we can measure accurately anisotropic Thus, a neurobiology of language is now possible. diffusion (and several other diffusivity characteristics).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Meta-Analytic Connectivity Modeling of Brodmann Area 37
    Florida International University FIU Digital Commons Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences Sciences 12-17-2014 Language and Visual Perception Associations: Meta-Analytic Connectivity Modeling of Brodmann Area 37 Alfredo Ardilla Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Florida International University, [email protected] Byron Bernal Miami Children's Hospital Monica Rosselli Florida Atlantic University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cnhs_fac Part of the Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons Recommended Citation Ardilla, Alfredo; Bernal, Byron; and Rosselli, Monica, "Language and Visual Perception Associations: Meta-Analytic Connectivity Modeling of Brodmann Area 37" (2014). Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences. 1. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cnhs_fac/1 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Hindawi Publishing Corporation Behavioural Neurology Volume 2015, Article ID 565871, 14 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/565871 Research Article Language and Visual Perception Associations: Meta-Analytic Connectivity Modeling of Brodmann Area 37 Alfredo Ardila,1 Byron Bernal,2 and Monica Rosselli3 1 Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA 2Radiology Department and Research Institute, Miami Children’s Hospital, Miami, FL 33155, USA 3Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, Davie, FL 33314, USA Correspondence should be addressed to Alfredo Ardila; [email protected] Received 4 November 2014; Revised 9 December 2014; Accepted 17 December 2014 Academic Editor: Annalena Venneri Copyright © 2015 Alfredo Ardila et al.
    [Show full text]
  • The Perfect Match: OG and Technology by Fay Van Vliet F/AOGPE and Susan Christenson M.A
    Winter/Spring 2017 The Perfect Match: OG and Technology by Fay Van Vliet F/AOGPE and Susan Christenson M.A. Fear is often what keeps us from pursuing new paths, so those growth may be attributed to the benefi ts of online tutoring paths are frequently left for the youth who are not laden with as it meets the needs of working parents, saves travel time, the gift of caution that time may provide. For those of us who fulfi lls requests from school districts needing our tutoring work in the area of dyslexia, technology is an area that may services, and allows the tutor to work in the comfort of their cause angst. At the Reading Center, it is mind-boggling that home! This is a win-win situation for the parents, students, Jean Osman, pioneer in the fi eld of dyslexia and school districts, and tutors. co-founder of our 65-year-old organization, is the one who has lead us into the technological age, ex- What has made the difference? How do we engage ploring areas in which e-tools may help those who apprehensive tutors? Which students qualify for on- struggle with dyslexia. As Jean Osman posed to us, line instruction? What tools do we need, and what “What would Orton do with new technology?” are the costs? How do we keep tutoring multisen- sory and consistent with the Essential Elements of Our non-profi t organization, The Reading Center, OG Instruction? intrepidly began online tutoring in 2003 with Fel- lows Nancy Sears and Jean Hayward leading the way using Engaging Tutors NetMeeting.
    [Show full text]
  • Neurobiology of Language
    NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE Edited by GREGORY HICKOK Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA STEVEN L. SMALL Department of Neurology, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON NEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO Academic Press is an imprint of Elsevier SECTION A INTRODUCTION This page intentionally left blank CHAPTER 1 The Neurobiology of Language Steven L. Small1 and Gregory Hickok2 1Department of Neurology, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA; 2Department of Cognitive Sciences, Center for Language Science, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA 1.1 HISTORY For many centuries, the biological basis of human thought has been an important focus of attention in medi- cine, with particular interest in the brain basis of language sparked by the famous patients of Pierre Paul Broca in the mid 19th century (Broca, 1861a,c). The patient Louis Victor LeBorgne (Domanski, 2013) presented to the Hoˆpital Biceˆtre in Paris with severe difficulty speaking, purport- edly only uttering the syllable “tan,” sometimes as a pair “tan, tan,” and often accompanied by gestures (Domanski, 2013). The diagnosis was not clear until autopsy, when Broca found on gross inspection that some neurological process (he reported a resulting collection of serous fluid) had destroyed a portion of the left posterior inferior frontal FIGURE 1.1 The exterior surface of the brain of LeBorgne (“tan”). gyrus (Broca, 1861c)(Figure 1.1). A subsequent patient, LeLong, had a similar paucity of speech output (five Wernicke (1874), the diagram-making of Lichtheim words were reported) with a lesion not dissimilar to that (1885) (Figure 1.2)andGrashey (1885), the anatomy of of LeBorgne (Broca, 1861a).
    [Show full text]
  • Dyslexia and Other Reading Disorders
    Reading Disorders & Dyslexia By Kate Maxwell Baker, MS CCC-SLP, Director Maxwell Speech & Language Center What is a Reading Disorder? • A learning disorder that involves significant impairment of reading accuracy, speed, or comprehension to the extent that the impairment interferes with academic achievement and activities of daily living. • This overall diagnosis can be used for deficits in reading decoding AND reading comprehension. What is Dyslexia? • A reading disorder is most commonly called Dyslexia, but Dyslexia usually includes deficits in spelling and writing as well as reading. What is Dysgraphia? • A specific learning disability that affects a person’s ability to acquire written language and to use written language to express their thoughts. • It can affect a person’s handwriting, orthographic coding, basic spelling and grammar, and use of incorrect wording. • It can occur with or without a diagnosis of Dyslexia. My Story • Reading Delay • Attention Deficit Disorder, non-hyperactive • A Language Learning Disability How did my story end? • The College of William and Mary - BS, Psychology • James Madison University - MS, Communication Sciences & Disorders • Owner/Director of Maxwell Speech & Language Center NEVER take NO for an answer. Reading Developmental Norms • Pre-Reading, ages 0-4 • Kindergarten, age 5 • 1st and 2nd Grade • 2nd and 3rd Grade • 4th Grade through 8th Grade • High School Developing pre-reading skills • Read to your child as much as you can! • Play silly games with rhyming or sounds • Have books available about many topics and encourage young children to sit quietly and look at pictures. Reading Decoding vs. Reading Comprehension • Reading Decoding: Translating the printed word into a sound • Reading Comprehension: Understanding the meaning of words that are written When to be Concerned • .
    [Show full text]
  • Language Pathways Defined in a Patient with Left Temporal Lobe Damage
    Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2014-12-01 Language Pathways Defined in a atientP with Left Temporal Lobe DamageSecondary to Traumatic Brain Injury: A QEEG & MRI Study Janelle Lee Bailey Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Bailey, Janelle Lee, "Language Pathways Defined in a atientP with Left Temporal Lobe DamageSecondary to Traumatic Brain Injury: A QEEG & MRI Study" (2014). Theses and Dissertations. 4363. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4363 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Language Pathways Defined in a Patient with Left Temporal Lobe Damage Secondary to Traumatic Brain Injury: A QEEG & MRI Study Janelle Lee Bailey A thesis submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science David L. McPherson, Chair Erin Bigler Christopher Dromey Richard W. Harris Department of Communication Disorders Brigham Young University December 2014 Copyright © 2014 Janelle Lee Bailey All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT Language Pathways Defined in a Patient with Left Temporal Lobe Damage Secondary to Traumatic Brain Injury: A QEEG and MRI Study Janelle Lee Bailey Department of Communication Disorders, BYU Master of Science Though the current understanding of language processing is incomplete, it has been established that the left hemisphere is dominant for language in the majority of the population.
    [Show full text]
  • Changes in the Functional Connectivity of Auditory and Language-Related
    Journal of Neurolinguistics 51 (2019) 84–95 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Neurolinguistics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jneuroling Changes in the functional connectivity of auditory and language- related brain regions in children with congenital severe T sensorineural hearing loss: An fMRI study ∗ Qiang Lia, Huang Guob, , Lihua Liuc, Shuang Xiac a Engineering College for the Deaf, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin, China b School of Social Development, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin, China c Department of Radiology, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin, China ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords: Early hearing deprivation can affect the development of hearing, language, and vision. Thirty- Congenital severe sensorineural hearing loss four infants with congenital severe sensorineural hearing loss (CSSHL) and 20 age- and sex- Functional connectivity matched subjects with normal hearing were recruited. The amplitude of low-frequency fluctua- Brain regions tion (ALFF) of auditory and language-related brain areas was compared between infants with fMRI deafness and control subjects. Relative to subjects with normal hearing, infants with CSSHL had decreased ALFF values in the right Brodmann's area (BA) 22 region and in parts of several lan- guage-related regions. As the duration of hearing loss increased, the ALFF values in the left auditory and linguistic brain regions increased. These findings indicate that hearing deprivation affects the functional connectivity between auditory and language-related brain regions andthe corresponding sensory and visual functional brain regions and that this functional connectivity decreases as the duration of hearing loss increases. Cochlear implantation performed after 24 months may limit the habilitation of hearing and speech functions due to functional re- organization of the auditory and linguistic brain areas over time.
    [Show full text]
  • SLHS 1302 the Talking Brain
    Chapters 2 & 3 Theories about Brain and Language Previous Chapter Neurolinguistics Main theories Localism, Associationism, Dynamic localization Holism Evolution-based theories Perspectives/Approaches Developmental Cross-linguistic Pathological/Rehabilitative Neuroimaging (tools) Engineering/Computer modelling Linguistic theories Jakobson Chomsky … Intro to linguistics http://www.distance.mun.ca/media/files/linguistics/li ng_hi.html Views on human nature and the brain Plato (424-348 BC): Parts of soul in different parts of brain - center of all senses Aristotle (384 – 322 BC): Soul in heart; brain is the “cooler.” Galen (129-217 AD): ventricles in the brain contain “instruments of the soul” Views on Human Nature and the Brain •Descartes (1596-1650): pineal gland is the seat of soul Functional localization Gall (1758 – 1828): cranioscopy (phrenology) Gall made several assumptions as the basis for his theory: - that a number of innate abilities exist - that it is impossible to reduce these abilities to a unity and that they are independent of each other - that the real nature of the abilities cannot be examined, only their material conditions, which are in the organism - that these material conditions must be in the cortex. Functional localization Broca’s aphasia (1861) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2IiMEbMnPM Wernecke’s aphasia (1874) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVhYN7NTIKU Dynamic functional localization Vygotsky emphasized that it is necessary to first investigate what is to be localized, before posing the question where. Functions must be analyzed with respect to the ontogenetic development. Vygotsky sees a function as a complex adaptive activity of the whole organism to a task. The activity can be performed in different ways, by the cooperation of several organs.
    [Show full text]
  • The 200+ Language Scientists at the U of Maryland
    The 200+ Language Scientists at the University of Maryland May 2012 Computer Science Faculty Position Interests Hal Daumé Assistant Professor Computational linguistics, machine translation, machine learning Bonnie Dorr Associate Dean Machine translation, linguistically-informed statistical models Mary Harper Affil. Res Professor Natural language processing James Reggia Professor Neural computation, evolutionary computation, AI Students Arvind Agarwal PhD Student Machine learning, data mining Vladimir Eidelman PhD Student Statstical machine translation Amit Goyal PhD Student Large data NLP Eric Hardisty PhD Student Natural language processing, machine learning Jagadeesh PhD Student Multilingual NLP Jagarlamudi Jiarong Jiang PhD Student Efficient approximate inference, graphical models Chang Hu PhD Student Crowdsourcing and translation Asad Sayeed PhD Student Computational linguistics, theoretical syntax Ferhan Ture PhD Student Large data NLP Shomir Wilson PhD Student Natural language processing, conversational agents Ke Wu PhD Student Buntain, Cody PhD Student Chelaru, Florin PhD Student Chen, Jun-Cheng PhD Student Guerra, Raul PhD Student Hu, Yuening PhD Student Johnson, Richard PhD Student Malik, Sana PhD Student Moon, Taesun PhD Student San Pedro, Jose PhD Student Sanders, Gregory PhD Student Sopan, Awalin PhD Student Yang, Yezhou PhD Student Ye, Chengxi PhD Student Zhai, Ke (CS) PhD Student Other Kristy Hollingshead Postdoc Machine translation, question answering Derek Monner Postdoc Comp. models of disorders, second language acq.
    [Show full text]
  • Frontal Lobe/Executive Functioning
    Chapter 10 Frontal Lobe/Executive Functioning James G. Scott and Mike R. Schoenberg Abstract The frontal lobes represent a large area, consuming approximately one-third of the cortical surface of the brain. This area is involved directly and indirectly across a wide spectrum of human thought, behavior and emotions. The irony of the frontal lobes may best be described as the area of the brain we know the most about but understand the least. For example, frontal lobe functioning involves simple motor skills (both gross and fine), complex motor skills, sequenced motor skills, inhibition of motor skills and automatic motor skills, and these may be the simplest of the functions of the frontal lobes. The frontal lobes also subsume what is collectively referred to as executive skills. These functions include attention, rea- soning, judgment, problem solving, creativity, emotional regulation, impulse con- trol and awareness of aspects of one’s and others’ functioning. In this chapter, we will briefly discuss the anatomy of the frontal lobes, the basic and complex func- tions of the frontal lobes, and the informal assessment of frontal lobe functions. Key Points and Chapter Summary • Frontal lobes include a large area of the cortex and are involved directly or indirectly in most brain functions involving cognition, behavioral, and motor skills • Frontal lobe damage can have profound effects on attention, memory, language, problem solving/reasoning, and general comportment (person- ality/social behaviors, etc.) • Frontal lobe damage can be grouped into three syndromes determined by anatomical regions involved and associated with characteristic cognitive, (continued) J.G. Scott (*) Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA e-mail: [email protected] M.R.
    [Show full text]
  • Toward a Neuroscience-Informed Evaluation of Language Technology
    Computer Assisted Language Learning ISSN: 0958-8221 (Print) 1744-3210 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ncal20 Toward a neuroscience-informed evaluation of language technology M. Ali Bolgün & Tatiana McCaw To cite this article: M. Ali Bolgün & Tatiana McCaw (2019) Toward a neuroscience-informed evaluation of language technology, Computer Assisted Language Learning, 32:3, 294-321, DOI: 10.1080/09588221.2018.1516675 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2018.1516675 Published online: 04 Nov 2018. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 236 View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 1 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=ncal20 COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING 2019, VOL. 32, NO. 3, 294–321 https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2018.1516675 Toward a neuroscience-informed evaluation of language technology M. Ali Bolgun€ and Tatiana McCaw Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, Monterey, CA, USA ABSTRACT KEYWORDS With the ever-increasing number of available language Declarative; procedural; technology products, there is also a need to evaluate them implicit; explicit; evaluation objectively. Unsubstantiated beliefs about what language of technology; language technology can and cannot do inside or outside the lan- education; apps guage classroom often influence decisions about the choice of language technology to be used. The declarative/proced- ural model, which makes a clear distinction between the declarative and procedural memory systems, can help to provide an objective, neuroscience-informed evaluation of language technology. The central argument in this paper is that language technology caters predominantly to the declarative memory system.
    [Show full text]
  • Comparison of Activation in the Prefrontal Cortex of Native Speakers of Mandarin by Ability of Japanese As a Second Language Using a Novel Speaking Task
    healthcare Article Comparison of Activation in the Prefrontal Cortex of Native Speakers of Mandarin by Ability of Japanese as a Second Language Using a Novel Speaking Task Li Cong 1,2 , Hideki Miyaguchi 3,* and Chinami Ishizuki 3 1 Graduate School of Biomedical & Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima City 734-8551, Japan; [email protected] 2 Faculty of Rehabilitation, Hiroshima International University, Higashi-Hiroshima City 739-2695, Japan 3 Department of Human Behavior Science of Occupational Therapy, Health Sciences Major, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima City 734-8551, Japan; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +81-82-257-5440 Abstract: Evidence shows that second language (L2) learning affects cognitive function. Here in this work, we compared brain activation in native speakers of Mandarin (L1) who speak Japanese (L2) between and within two groups (high and low L2 ability) to determine the effect of L2 ability in L1 and L2 speaking tasks, and to map brain regions involved in both tasks. The brain activation during task performance was determined using prefrontal cortex blood flow as a proxy, measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). People with low L2 ability showed much more brain activation when speaking L2 than when speaking L1. People with high L2 ability showed high-level brain activation when speaking either L2 or L1. Almost the same high-level brain activation was observed in both ability groups when speaking L2. The high level of activation in people with high Citation: Cong, L.; Miyaguchi, H.; Ishizuki, C.
    [Show full text]
  • Psych 102 Chapter 9 Presentation
    7/23/19 Hearing and Language Chapter 9 Stimulus for Hearing The Auditory Mechanism Frequency Analysis Garrett: Brain & Behavior 4e Locating sounds with Binaural Cues Language, Aphasias, and Antecedents 1 Hearing • A *receptor is a cell or specialized neuron that • Responds to a particular form of energy 7/23/19 (adequate stimulus). • *converts one form of energy to another • Intensity and pattern of information makes information meaningful. • “Hearing” vs. “ listening” • *Sensation- acquisition of information Garrett: Brain & Behavior 4e • *Perception- interpretation of information 2 Hearing Where Sensation Occurs and What is Encoded Where Physical stimulus is Psychological 7/23/19 Sense Adequate Stimulus modalities converted modalities (receptor) Hearing Vibration in a Cochlea • Frequency • Pitch (Ch 9) conducting medium (hair cell) • Intensity or • Loudness (air, water, bone) Amplitude Vision Electromagnetic Retina • Wavelengt • Color (Ch 10) radiation in visual (rod , cone) h • Brightness spectrum • Intensity or wavelengths Amplitude Garrett: Brain & Behavior 4e 3 Physical vs. Psychological • *Amplitude (or • *Loudness 7/23/19 Intensity) • dB- decibels • mV- millivolts • 6dB corresponds to doubling of amplitude • Peak-to-peak • *Frequency • *Pitch • Hz- hertz • Waves per second • Human hearing range: Garrett: Brain & Behavior 4e *20Hz – 20,000 Hz 4 Hearing Fig 9.2: Alternating Compression & Decompression of Air by a Sound Source Fig 9.3: Examples of Pure Tones (a-d) and Complex (e-f) Sounds (right) 7/23/19 Garrett: Brain & Behavior 4e 5 SOURCE: (LEFT) From Sensation and Perception, 5th ed., by Goldstein, 1999. Reprinted with permission of Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning. Hearing Figure 9.4: The Outer, Middle, and Inner Ear 7/23/19 Garrett: Brain & Behavior 4e Oval window Round window Eustachian tube 6 Hearing Figure 9.4: The Outer, Middle, and Inner Ear • Outer ear 7/23/19 • Pinna • External auditory canal Garrett: Brain & Behavior 4e 7 Hearing Figure 9.5: Structures of the Middle and Inner Ear.
    [Show full text]