unit 7: Neuropsychology of Language

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts from the Neuropsychology of Language lecture.

Localization of Language

The process of identifying specific areas of the brain responsible for language functions.

Language

A rule-governed system of sounds and symbols used for communication.

Phoneme

The smallest unit of sound that can change meaning in a language.

Morpheme

The smallest unit of meaning in language.

Lexicon

The mental store of words and their meanings.

Syntax

Rules governing the structure and order of words in sentences.

Semantics

The meaning of words and sentences.

Prosody

The emotional tone, rhythm, and intonation of speech.

Discourse

The ability to organize sentences into coherent spoken or written narratives.

Left Hemisphere Language Dominance

Language is lateralized to the left hemisphere in ~95% of right-handed individuals and ~70% of left-handed individuals.

Broca

’s Area (BA 44–45)

Region in the left inferior frontal gyrus responsible for speech production and articulation.

Wernicke

’s Area (BA 22)

Region in the left superior temporal gyrus responsible for language comprehension.

Angular Gyrus (BA 39)

Involved in reading, writing, and semantic processing.

Supramarginal Gyrus (BA 40)

Involved in phonological processing and repetition.

Insula (Language)

Involved in speech articulation and motor planning.

Heschl’s Gyrus

Primary auditory cortex involved in sound perception.

Wernicke–Geschwind Model

Classic model describing auditory input

\rightarrow

comprehension

\rightarrow

speech production.

Arcuate Fasciculus

White-matter tract connecting Wernicke

’s and Broca

’s areas; critical for repetition.

Superior Longitudinal Fasciculus

Involved in auditory-motor integration and repetition.

Inferior Fronto-Occipital Fasciculus (IFOF)

Ventral pathway involved in semantic processing and reading comprehension.

Uncinate Fasciculus

Connects anterior temporal lobe to frontal areas; involved in lexical-semantic access.

Aslant Fasciculus

Connects frontal language regions; involved in speech initiation and fluency.

Dorsal Pathway

The neural pathway that transforms sound information into motor representation for articulation.

Ventral Pathway

The pathway that transforms sound information into semantic meaning.

Auditory Center

The region of the brain that processes auditory information and language.

Aphasia

An acquired language disorder affecting production, comprehension, reading, or writing.

Fluent Aphasia

Preserved speech fluency with impaired comprehension.

Non-Fluent Aphasia

Effortful, reduced speech output with relatively preserved comprehension.

Pure Aphasia

Selective impairment of a single language modality (reading or writing).

Wernicke’s Aphasia

Fluent but meaningless speech, poor comprehension, poor repetition, paraphasias.

Transcortical Sensory Aphasia

Fluent speech, poor comprehension, preserved repetition.

Conduction Aphasia

Fluent speech and good comprehension with impaired repetition.

Anomic Aphasia

Word-finding difficulty with preserved comprehension and repetition.

Broca’s Aphasia

Non-fluent, effortful speech; relatively preserved comprehension; poor repetition.

Transcortical Motor Aphasia

Non-fluent speech with preserved repetition.

Global Aphasia

Severe impairment of both speech production and comprehension.

Alexia

Inability to read.

Agraphia

Inability to write.

Word Deafness

Inability to understand spoken language despite intact hearing.

Dyslexia

A reading disorder characterized by difficulties in recognizing written words.

Attentional Dyslexia

Difficulty reading letters when more than one letter is present.

Neglect Dyslexia

Failure to read one side of words.

Letter-by-Letter Reading

Reading words by sequentially identifying letters.

Deep Dyslexia

Semantic errors, inability to read nonwords, better reading of concrete words.

Phonological Dyslexia

Inability to read nonsense words aloud.

Surface Dyslexia

Difficulty reading irregular words.

Basal Ganglia (Language)

Involved in speech motor control and fluency.

Thalamus (Language)

Activates cortical language areas and lexical-semantic processing.

Caudate Nucleus

Involved in language regulation and fluency.

Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination (BDAE-3)

Comprehensive assessment of aphasia (production, comprehension, repetition). Age: Adults

Token Test

Assesses auditory comprehension of complex commands. Age: 6 years

\rightarrow

older adults

NEPSY-II

Assesses language (phonology, naming, repetition) in children. Age: 3–16 years

CELF-5 (Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals)

Assesses structural and pragmatic language. Age: 5–21 years

Boston Naming Test (BNT)

Measures confrontation naming ability. Age: Adolescents

\rightarrow

adults

Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-IV)

Assesses receptive vocabulary. Age: 2.5 years

\rightarrow

adulthood

WAIS-IV (Vocabulary Subtest)

Assesses verbal knowledge in adults. Age: 16–90 years

WISC-V (Vocabulary Subtest)

Assesses verbal knowledge in children. Age: 6–16 years

National Adult Reading Test (NART-2)

Estimates premorbid intelligence using irregular word reading. Age: Adults

PROLEC-R / PROLEC-SE-R

Assessment of reading processes. Age: Children & adolescents

PROESC

Assessment of spelling and writing abilities. Age: School-aged children

Johns Hopkins University Dysgraphia Battery

Assessment of writing impairments. Age: Adults

Cerebral Artery

Blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to the brain; strokes often occur in these arteries.

Right Hemisphere Contributions

The role of the right hemisphere in aspects of language processing, especially comprehension.