module 10 Flashcards
(41 cards)
Where is language typically lateralised in the brain?
A: In ~90% of people, language is lateralised to the left hemisphere.
What aspects of language are associated with the right hemisphere?
A: Prosody, metaphor processing, emotional tone, and spatial navigation.
What have split-brain studies taught us about language?
A: Cutting the corpus callosum disrupts communication between hemispheres, affecting comprehension/production of stimuli shown to the left visual field.
What is the role of Wernicke’s area?
A: Recognises spoken words — acts as an auditory dictionary (left temporal lobe).
What does the posterior language area do?
A: Connects Wernicke’s area to perception/memory areas for meaning processing.
What is Broca’s area responsible for?
A: Speech production using information from memory and perception (frontal lobe).
What brain regions are involved in language processing overall?
A: Occipital, temporal, parietal lobes, and prefrontal cortex.
How does the bilingual brain differ from the monolingual brain?
A: Bilingual babies show activity in prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortex, linked to executive function and switching languages.
Can bilingual people experience aphasia in one language only?
A: Yes — lesions can affect one language and not the other.
What have neuroimaging and stimulation studies found about bilingual brains?
A: There are both shared and distinct areas for each language in the cortex and subcortical regions.
How does learning a second language affect brain structure?
A: Increases grey matter density in the left parietal cortex (greater with earlier acquisition).
What is phonagnosia?
A: Inability to recognise voices despite normal speech comprehension/production.
What brain region is linked to voice recognition?
A: Right anterior superior temporal cortex (damage here causes phonagnosia).
What did von Kriegstein et al. (2003) find?
A: Voice identity activates right anterior superior temporal cortex more than spoken word recognition.
What is Broca’s aphasia primarily associated with?
A: Difficulty in speech production.
Where is the brain damage located in Broca’s aphasia?
A: Broca’s area in the left frontal lobe and surrounding regions, including some subcortical white matter.
What are the three main symptoms of Broca’s aphasia?
A: Agrammatism, anomia, and articulation difficulties.
What is agrammatism?
A: Difficulty using and understanding grammar (e.g., verb tenses, passive sentences).
What is anomia?
A: Difficulty finding the right word.
What is articulation difficulty?
A: Mispronouncing words by rearranging sounds (e.g., “lipstick” becomes “likstip”).
What is Wernicke’s aphasia associated with?
A: Poor speech comprehension and fluent but meaningless speech.
Which brain areas are damaged in Wernicke’s aphasia?
A: Wernicke’s area and the posterior language area.
Are individuals with Wernicke’s aphasia aware of their speech problems?
A: No, they are often unaware.
What is pure word deafness?
A: The inability to recognise spoken words, despite normal hearing and speaking.
