NSC Language

What is so important about the Superior Olivary Nucleus?

First place with bilateral inputs

What is Langague?

Generation and understanding of written, spoken, and gestural communication

Phonemes are

Basic Speech Sounds

Semantics are?

Meaning of words or sentences

Syntax are?

Grammatical rules for constructing phrases and sentences

From birth, babies can distinguish?

Phonemes in any language

Language development depends on?

Experience during a sensitive period - our first few years

Speech refers to how we?

Say sounds and words

Language refers to ?

Words we use in a sentence to convey our message

The scientific study of language is called linguistics which includes?

Phonology, Morphology, Semantics, Syntax, and Pragmatics

Phonology represents the?

Sound system and linguistic rules of sound combinations, pronunciation, and perception

Morphology represents the?

Linguistic rules of word structure and construction

Pragmatics represents the rule for?

Maintaining a conversation in terms of responsiveness, relevance, and so on

Go back to slide 6 and grab Phonation to variations stuff

What are key structures in the Diagram?

. Primary Auditory Cortex

• First stop for spoken language input.

• Processes raw sound before meaning is extracted.

2. Wernicke’s Area

• Critical for language comprehension.

• Assigns meaning to words and sentences.

3. Arcuate Fasciculus

• White‑matter fiber tract connecting Wernicke’s area → Broca’s area.

• Essential for repeating words, integrating comprehension with production.

4. Broca’s Area

• Responsible for speech planning and production.

• Converts linguistic ideas into motor plans.

5. Motor Cortex / Facial Motor Area

• Executes the motor commands for speech (mouth, tongue, larynx).
  ______________________________________________________
  Primary Visual Cortex

  • First processing site for written words.

  Angular Gyrus

  • Converts visual symbols → linguistic meaning.

  • Bridges reading and language comprehension.

Spoken Input Pathway

Primary Auditory Cortex → Wernicke’s Area → Arcuate Fasciculus → Broca’s Area → Motor Cortex

Written Input Pathway

Primary Visual Cortex → Angular Gyrus → Wernicke’s Area → Arcuate Fasciculus → Broca’s Area → Motor Cortex

What is so special about the brown areas in this image?

The brown areas are called Mirror Neurons, which may be critical to develop language, as they are active during imitation of others actions
(They overlap Broca and Wernicke’s area, which are yellow)

Aphasia represents the?

Impaired language ability due to damage in the dominant left hemisphere language areas.

Which is the Primary Hemisphere for Language

Left Hemisphere is dominant for language in about 95% of right‑handed people and ~70% of left‑handed people

Broca’s Aphasia (Non‑fluent / Expressive): Key features

• Non‑fluent, effortful, broken speech

• Good comprehension

• Impaired repetition

• Patient aware of deficit (frustrated)

• Lesion: left inferior frontal gyrus (Broca’s area)

• “Broken speech, good comprehension.”

Broca’s Aphasia may occur with?

Anomia - inability to name persons or objects

Wernicke’s Aphasia (Fluent / Receptive): Key features

• Fluent but nonsensical speech (“word salad”)

• Poor comprehension

• Impaired repetition

• Patient unaware of deficit

• Lesion: left superior temporal gyrus (Wernicke’s area)

• “Fluent nonsense, poor comprehension.”

Conduction Aphasia: Key features

• Fluent speech

• Good comprehension

• Severely impaired repetition (hallmark)

• Frequent phonemic paraphasias (sound substitutions)

• Patient aware of errors and tries to correct them

• Lesion: arcuate fasciculus (connection between Broca + Wernicke)

Memory phrase:
➡ “Can speak and understand, but can’t repeat.”

Global Aphasia: Key features

• Non‑fluent speech

• Poor comprehension

• Impaired repetition

• Severe impairment across all language domains

• Often only a few words or stereotyped utterances

• Lesion: large left MCA stroke affecting both Broca + Wernicke regions

Memory phrase:
➡ “Everything is impaired.”

Following Left-hemisphere damage, if injury occurs early in life, what can occur?

Right hemisphere can take over language

If damage was to occur later, the language control is more likely to?

Shift into bordering areas in the left hemisphere

This fMRI shows transient right hemisphere activity during stroke recovery

Ability of other areas to take over language functions may be due to their?

Normal participation in language

Go back to slide 15-16

Dichotic listening is when we?

Present different sounds to each ear at different or the same time

What does this image show?

Crossed Auditory Pathways

• Left ear → right hemisphere

• Right ear → left hemisphere

This crossing is shown by the colored pathways

Left Hemisphere Language Dominance

• Wernicke’s area (shown in the left hemisphere) processes language.

• Because the right ear projects directly to the left hemisphere, people usually report the right‑ear sound first or more accurately.

This is called the right‑ear advantage.
Meaning the left hemisphere is dominant for language

Right-Handers identify stimuli delivered to right ear?

More easily - right ear advantage

Some left-handers have left-ear advantage though implying some left-handers?

Have language in their right hemisphere

Wada test is the injection of?

Amobarbital into carotid artery briefly that sedates that hemisphere

For Right-Handers

Language restricted to left in 95%

For left handers?

Only 70% have left lateralization, 15% have right lateralization, 15% mixed dominance

The brain uses two language systems to read, where?

One focuses on sounds of letters, the other on meaning of words

Suface dyslexia represents?

Errors in reading restricted to details and sounds of letters
Pretty (pritty) read as pretty

For Surface Dyslexia error will be

Early in auditory processing