Chapter 12 Language and Brain.pptxVIP

Chapter 12 Language and Brain12.1 Introduction In the past: more concern for language instead of the brain, due to difficulties in studyRecently, technological advances facilitated the studyTwo sub-branches: neurolinguistics and psycholinguisticsNeurolinguistics1) What is neurolinguistics ?Definition: Neurolinguistics is the study of the relationship between brain and language.Scope: how the structure of the brain influences language learninghow and where in the brain language is storedhow damage to the brain affects the ability to use languageDevelopment: in its infancy The structure and function of the human brainThe brain , weighting about 1400 grams, consists of about ten billion nerve cells called neurons, the basic information processing unitof the nervous system and the billions of fibers that connecting these neuronstwo sections of the brain:lower section (brain stem 脑干)-in all animals: maintaining essential functions like respiration, heart rate, muscle co-ordinationhigher section (cerebrum 大脑)-different in different species cortex: 脑皮层：formed by neurons, decision-making organ and storehouse of memory , where the language representation and processing take place, peculiar to human beings, not existent in animalstwo parts of the cortex:　(separated by longitudinal fissure纵裂)the left cerebral hemisphere ( left brain) -excels in analytic tasks, such as arithmetic the right cerebral hemisphere ( right brain) -excels in overall appreciation of complex patterns, such as recognizing familiar faces and melodieslanguage -not always by one hemisphere, but coordinated functioning of bothconnected by corpus callosum (胼胝体)（a bundle of nerve fibres）(a pathway to the other) each hemisphere controls the opposite half of the body in muscle movementand sensation , e.g scratching nose with right hand-controlled by the left brain ; whispering to the left ear-sounds signals go the right brain, then to the leftright--handed persons: language representation in the left brain---lef