Chapter 3 - Neurological Bases of Speech and Language

Neuron

Cell that transmits information to other cells; also called nerve cell.

Axon

• PART OF A NEURON

• arm like structures that send information to other neurons

  • Include a myelin sheath which provides insulation to ensure efficient signal transmission. 

Dendrites

• PART OF A NEURON

• branchlike part of the neuron that receives information from other neurons

Synapse

• PART OF A NEURON

• junction between to neurons

What are the major components of the cental nervous system?

• BRAIN

• SPINAL CORD

• NEURONS

Cerebellum

• known as the little brain

• Movement, senses, thought, memory, emotions, language, and temperature 

Prefrontal Cortex

• Executive Functioning, control, organization, and synthesis of sensory and motor information.

Motor Cortex

• planning controlling and executing voluntary movements

Broca’s Area

• focuses on speech production

Wernicke’s Area

• focuses on language processing

Frontal Lobe

• Includes prefrontal cortex toward the front of the frontal lobe

• Memory storage, movements, emotions, problem solving and judgement

Parietal Lobe

• processing sensory information

Temporal Lobe

• important for auditory processing, memory, and language processing

Occipital Lobe

• Visual processing, interpreting visual information from the eyes, and enabling recognition of shapes, colors, and motion

Executive Functioning

• set of cognitive process that enables individuals to plan, organize initiate, monitor, and REGULATE their THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS

• readies brain and allocate resources

What are the brains basic functions?

• regulation, processing, formulation

• includes 2 hemispheres where neither is dominant

What are the functions of the Left Hemisphere?

•  LOGIC SIDE OF THE BRAIN

  1. CONTROLS RIGHT SIDE OF THE BODY

  2. Verbal communication 

  3. Complex reasoning 

  4. Language processing 

  5. Analytical thinking 

What are the functions of the Right Hemisphere?

• WHOLISTIC COMP AND PRODUCTION AREA

  1. CONTROLS LEFT SIDE OF THE BODY

  2. Visuo-spatial processing 

  3. Spatial awareness 

  4. Image processing 

  5. Creativity 

What is the process of comprehension?

1. eye or ear

2. Heschls Area

   1. 60% crosses to the other hemisphere

   2. 40% stays

   3. Linguistic information to the Wernicke’s Area

   4. Paralinguistic information to the right cortex

What are the steps to processing information?

• Attention

• Discrimination

• Orientation

• Memory

Attention

• step in processing information

• awareness and processing of the situation

Orientation

• step in processing information

• sustainability of attention over time

Discrimination

• step in processing information

• identify stimuli differing from some dimensions

  • requires the use of working memory

Working Memory

• temporarily stores and manipulates information and is key to learning and language comprehension

What are the three mechanisms that work together for working memory?

• Central Executive

• Storage

• Visuospatial Storage

• Episodic Buffer

What parts of the brain are involved in working memory?

• prefrontal cortex

• parietal cortex

• dorsal interior cingulate cortex

Central Executive

• Mechanism of working memory

• coordination, flow of info, where info is going to. 

Storage

• Mechanism of working memory

• device for retention of information 

Visuospatial Storage

• Mechanism of working memory

• temporary retention, making a visual picture of what someone is talking about

Episodic Buffer

• Mechanism of working memory

• integrate inputs from the PSTM and visuospatial allows for coherent representation needed for processing and retention for large part of speech

Short Term Memory

• temporary storage system that holds a small amount of information for a brief period, typically lasting from a few seconds to a minute.

Long Term Memory

• nearly permanent storage of information where it can be held for years. 

Top-Down Processing

• IS THIS SOMETHING I’VE SEEN BEFORE?

• focuses on the use of prior knowledge to make sense of things

• is conceptually driven

Bottom-Up Processing

• WHAT AM I SEEING?

• focuses on the basic elements of stimuli and environment in terms of understanding

• is stimulus driven

• does NOT rely on prior knowledge

What are the different types of processing?

• passive

• active

• serial

• parallel

Passive Processing

• type of processing

• not interacting with the information

Active Processing

• type of processing

• actively searching for information and making those connections

  • considered more effective for learning and memory over passive processing

Serial Processing

• type of processing

• information is processed simultaneously one at a time- liner

Broca’s Aphasia

• expressive aphasia

• no issue understanding language

• struggle to form complete sentences

• have awareness

Wernicke’s Aphasia

• receptive aphasia

• difficulty understanding speech

Aphasia

• a disorder in the comprehension and/or expression of language

When does the brain reach it’s full weight?

age 12

Is language processing linear?

NO - PHONETIC - PHONOLOGICAL - GRAMMATICAL - SEMANTIC

• does not happen in this exact order - can be all over the place

Parallel Processing

• type of processing

• similar to bottom-up processing