Name : Dhani Pramata Class : pbi 2 d

NEUROLINGUISTICS Aphasia and brain mapping

A good dealis now know about the gross anatomy of the speech centers in the brain, much of it deriving from a century of aphasia studies. Aphasia is the name for a variety of speech losses and speech problems that are related to dysfunctions of the brain it self. Specific kinds of aphasia are related to damage to specific areas of the brain; so the kinds of symptoms experienced can give valuabe hints about the speech functions of the damage brain areas. Types of aphasia One of the first aphasias to be identified was Brocas aphasia, named after the french physiologist Paul Borca, who ,in 1861, published a paper in which he correlated an area of the brain with certain speech processes.Brocas Area,as indicated in figure 17-1, lies directly in front of the part of the motor cortex that controls the muscles involved in speech production.Broca claimed that damage to this area results in a certain type of aphasia, later called Brocas Aphasia, Which is chacacterized by extreme difficulty in speech. Very poor pronunciation, and usually the loss of the small words, or function words, of language. In 1874, another physiologist, Carl Wernicke, announced the discovery of a second major speech area, now called Wernickes area.It has since been determined that Brocas and Wernickes areas are connected by a long track of nerves.Heschl area is principally associated with the nerve pathways of hearing,and damage to it results in what is called word deafness. Brain areas and language Interpretations of aphasia in relation to linguistic theories must be extremely guarded.Linguistic are very cautious about asserting that any of the areas of the brain are actually associated wth language pense,although they are obviously associated with speech. Speech and Species Researchers have compared the human brain to the chimpanzees to determine whether the chimpanzee is equipped for speech. Such an endeavor is significant, fot thr chimpanzee is our closest relative, sharing a good deal of our genetic heritage.Zoolongists work with the assumpption that brain structure is

genetically determined, and linguists further assume that language depends directly on brainstructure. Thus,if any animal might be expected to have a brain structure compatible with language, the chimpanzees brain is similar enough to the human brain for physiologists to have considerable trouble telling them apart.The brain areas involved in the chimpanzees vocalizations are part of what is known collectively as the limbic system,an area deep within the brain that apparently is no longer of great significance to human communication. In humans, the limbic system is involved in speech only under circumstances of pain or extreme mental duress. Language and Consciousness About 1940, it was discovered that epileptic seizures could be controlled through a surgical technique in which the major neurological bridges between the two halves of the brain are cut. Apparently, major epileptic seizures involve an uncontrolled reverberation back and forth between the two sides of the brain; when the bridges are cut, the reverberation is forestalled. Subjects whose hemispheric connections are severed are apparently able to lead normal lives, with no diminution of intellectual capacities. Experiments with these splitbrain subject have provided some fascinating insights into the relationship between speech and consciousness.