Chapter 15: language and lateralization

Question 1

communication

Answer 1

the transmission of information between individuals

Question 2

grammar

Answer 2

rules for usage of a particular language

Question 3

corpus callosum

Answer 3

the main bond of axons that connects the two cerebral hemispheres

Question 4

split brain individuals

Answer 4

an individual whose corpus callosum has been severed, halting communication between the right and left hemisphere

Question 5

planum temporale

Answer 5

an auditory region of superior temporal cortex

Question 6

prosody

Answer 6

the perception of emotional tone-of-voice aspects of language (right hemisphere)

Question 7

wada test

Answer 7

a test in which a short-lasting anesthetic is delivered into one carotid artery to determine the processing specializations of that hemisphere, such as language

Question 8

astereognosis

Answer 8

the inability to recognize objects by touching and feeling them

Question 9

prosopagnosia

Answer 9

(face blindness) a condition characterized by the inability to recognize faces

Question 10

fusiform gyrus

Answer 10

associated with recognition of faces

Question 11

agnosia

Answer 11

inability to identify individual items

Question 12

phonemes

Answer 12

a sound that is produces for language

Question 13

morphemes

Answer 13

the smallest grammatical unit of a language; a word or meaningful part of a word

Question 14

syntax

Answer 14

the grammatical rules for constructing phrases and sentences in language

Question 15

pragmatics

Answer 15

context in which a speech sound is uttered

Question 16

aphasia

Answer 16

impairment in language understanding and/or production that is caused by brain injury

Question 17

Brocas area

Answer 17

a region of the frontal lobe of the brain that is involved in the production of speech

Question 18

Broca’s aphasia

Answer 18

language impairment characterized by difficult with speech production but not with language comprehension

Question 19

Wernicke’s area

Answer 19

region of temporietal cortex in the brain that is involved in the perception and production of speech

Question 20

Wernickes aphasia

Answer 20

language impairment characterized by fluent, meaningless speech and little language comprehension

Question 21

global aphasia

Answer 21

total loss of ability to understand language, or to speak, read, or write

Question 22

connectionist model of aphasia

Answer 22

argues that language deficits result from disconnection between the brain regions in a language network

Question 23

arcuate fasciculus

Answer 23

fiber tract that connects Wernickes speech area and Broca’s speech area

Question 24

conduction aphasia

Answer 24

an impairment in the ability to repeat words and sentences

Question 25

the motor theory of language

Answer 25

the theory that speech is perceived using the same left hemisphere mechanisms that are used to produce the complex movements that go into speech

Question 26

williams syndrome

Answer 26

caused by the deletion of 28 genes from chromosome 7, impairments of spatial cognition and IQ but superior linguistic abilities

Question 27

transcranial magnetic stimulation

Answer 27

used to stimulate a lesion by disrupting neural activity for up to an hour

Question 28

dyslexia

Answer 28

a reading disorder in cortical neurons

Question 29

deep dyslexia

Answer 29

acquired dyslexia in which the person reads a word as another word that is semantically related

Question 30

surface dyslexia

Answer 30

acquired dyslexia in which the person seems to attend only to the fine details of reading

Question 31

recovery of function

Answer 31

the recovery of behavioral capacity following brain damage from stroke or injury

Question 32

embryonic stem cells

Answer 32

a cell derived from an embryo that has the capacity to form any type of tissue

Question 33

constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT)

Answer 33

a therapy for recovery of movement after stroke or injury in which the persons unaffected limb is constrained while they are required to perform tasks with the affected limb

Question 34

concussion

Answer 34

a form of closed head injury caused by a jarring blow to the head, resulting in damage to the tissue of the brain with short or long-term consequences for cognitive function

Question 35

chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)

Answer 35

a form of dementia that may develop following multiple concessions, such as in athletes engaged in contact sports

Question 36

language

Answer 36

highly specialized communication based on assembly of arbitrary symbols to convey a vast range of things, actions, and concepts

Question 37

spatial cognition

Answer 37

our ability to navigate and understand spatial relationships between objects

Question 38

astereognosis

Answer 38

inability to name an object by feel

Question 39

Nonverbal visual stimuli, such as faces or shapes, are recognized more accurately if they are presented to the

Answer 39

left visual field

Question 40

Which region of cortex is crucial for face recognition?

Answer 40

Fusiform gyrus

Question 41

Prosopagnosia is the inability to

Answer 41

recognize faces.

Question 42

A patient who has difficulty speaking but has good comprehension of verbal material is most likely suffering from _______ aphasia.

Answer 42

Broca's

Question 43

Damage to the _______, which transmits information between Wernicke’s area and Broca’s area leads to _______ aphasia.

Answer 43

arcuate fasciculus; conduction

Question 44

The sounds that make up a language are called _______, and the system of rules for producing sentences is called _______.

Answer 44

phonemes; grammar

Question 45

Unusual groupings of cells in the outer layers of the cerebral cortex have been seen in postmortem studies of

Answer 45

dyslexia

Question 46

In boxers, the devastating effects of repeated blows to the head are evident in the development of a progressive cognitive impairment called

Answer 46

chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Question 47

The goal of constraint-induced movement therapy is to encourage stroke patients to use the afflicted arm by _______ the unaffected arm.

Answer 47

restraining