Language Primates What kind of language do other species have What do we learn from studying how other species communicate or from their potential for language o Chimps attempted to teach chimps ASL or other visual systems Chimps didn t use symbols in new original combinations Used symbols to request not describe Produced requests more then they understood Some understanding could answer who what and where questions w correct type of answer if not correct answer itself o Bonobos very human like what Kanzi learned 250 human words language of 2 2 yr old Understand more than they can produce Use symbols to name describe Request items they don t see Use symbols to describe past events Original creative requests Non primates o Elephants imitate the sounds they hear including vocalizations of other elephants o Dolphins learn to respond to gestures and sounds Ex SeaWorld o Alex the African gray parrot learned to give spoken answers to spoken questions Ex What color is the key What object is gray How many blue keys are there What do we learn from this o How to teach language to people who do not easily learn it o Our concept of language is ambiguous What is the hypothesis on how humans evolved language Hypothesis 1 a by product of overall brain development intelligence o Problems with this But some people w normal sized brain don t have normal language language requires specialization not just expansion Family w normal intelligence and normal activity in language centers but poor language skills dominant gene Williams syndrome Deletion of many genes on chromosome 7 decreased gray matter Mental impairment but skillful use of language Hypothesis 2 an extra brain module aka a new specialization o Evidence Ease w which children learn language even if no one teaches them they invent their own Applies to deaf and hearing children Gene that is mutated in a family w pronunciation grammar problems This gene is found in both humans and chimps but differs b t the species at 2 sites Has effects on brain development and structures of jaw and throat important for language o Problems with this There are areas for language but language isn t always their only job Is there a critical period for learning language If so when is it Is there a critical period for learning a second language The younger the better probably a critical period but no sharp cut off age No exposure to any language in infancy and young childhood never develop much skill at any language Learn foreign language before puberty to speak w o an accent Where is language Generally L hemisphere with a role for the right as well and specifically Are a person s first and second languages in the same location Left hemisphere o 95 of strongly right handed people have language on L side o 60 of left handed and ambidextrous have language on L Child w L hemispherectomy before puberty can acquire language on R R hemisphere is important for some aspects of language like prosody What is aphasia What causes it and who does it affect Aphasia impairment of language o Due to brain injury traumatic stroke tumor etc o Can be very mild to very severe o Around 1 million people in US o Can happen to anyone o Can be transient Purpose of speech therapy is to help the patient to fully utilize remaining skills and to learn compensatory means of communication What are Broca s aphasia and Wernike s aphasia What are the symptoms of each and what brain regions are involved Broca s aphasia a non fluent aphasia caused by damage to Broca s area surrounding area o Part of frontal lobe of L cortex near motor cortex o Difficulty with motor production of words and speak slowly and inarticulately Omit prepositions and conjunctions and have difficulty understanding them Trouble saying no ifs ands or buts o Trouble reading to be or not to be but can read two bee oar knot two bee So problem w language not just vocal muscles Trouble with writing and gestures o Comprehension deficits w complicated sentence structure Wernicke s aphasia fluent aphasia impaired ability to remember names of objects o Impaired language comprehension o Articulate speech speak smoothly but nonsense o Difficulty finding the right word Are Broca s area and Wernike s area the only brain areas important for language Need connection b t Wernikes area and motor cortex for understanding and forming words Get activation of motor cortex w any action word kick activates foot part of motor cortex
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