Cognitive Neuroscience and Language Development

Cognitive neuroscience

Exploration of the brain pathways that lead to cognition.

Neuroimaging techniques

Valuable tools in cognitive neuroscience.

fMRI

Functional magnetic resonance imaging; detects changes in blood flow in the brain.

Changes in blood flow

Indicates increased neural activity.

Spatial resolution

The ability to distinguish between different locations in the brain.

PET

Positron emission tomography; detects positrons emitted by a radioactive substance in the brain.

Radioactive glucose

Injected substance used in PET to measure brain activity.

Glucose use

Indicates brain activity and positron emission.

Temporal resolution

The ability to track changes in brain activity over time.

Sensitive period

A critical time frame during which language development occurs.

Broca's aphasia

Difficulty in producing speech but not in understanding it; results from damage to the left inferior frontal lobe.

Wernicke's aphasia

Speech is nonsensical but fluid, comprehension is poor; results from damage to the left superior temporal gyrus.

Language lateralization

Language is primarily located in the left hemisphere of the cerebrum in most people.

Endogenous attention

Conscious control of attention towards our interest or goal.

Overt attention

Attention that coincides with sensory orientation.

Covert attention

Attention that is independent of sensory orientation.

Exogenous attention

Involuntary re-orientation of attention to an unexpected stimulus.

Attentional processes

Involve many brain regions and reflect attentional effort.

Consciousness

The state of being awake and aware that we can perceive stimuli around us.

Experimental definition of consciousness

Defined by examining brain phenomena related to lack of consciousness.

Language disorders

Help us understand the brain regions associated with language.

Long term isolation of a baby

Results in the lack of language development.

Aphasias

Language deficits that apply to any fluent early-learned language a person speaks, including written and sign languages.