Neurobiology of Language HS135 January 2025 PDF

Neurobiology of Language HS135 January 2025 Dr Shamala Sundaray School of Health and Social Care Speech and Language Therapy [email protected] Lesson Objectives Understand what neurobiology of language refers to Develop an awareness of the contribution...

Neurobiology of Language HS135 January 2025 Dr Shamala Sundaray School of Health and Social Care Speech and Language Therapy [email protected] Lesson Objectives Understand what neurobiology of language refers to Develop an awareness of the contribution of brain imaging studies to the growth of the field Develop an awareness of the different types of brain imaging methods & studies Understanding some current research findings and their implications to ‘language in the brain’ Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 2 Language What is the Neurobiology of Language? “…the biological implementation and linking relations for representations and processes necessary and sufficient for production and understanding of speech and language in context. Biological disciplines that are highly relevant to the neurobiology of language include the anatomy and physiology of the human brain, the network connectivity of the brain, and the multiple roles of different brain areas…(as well as)…the basic scientific findings in this area will necessarily lead to a physiological approach to therapy for speech and language disorders (Small, Buccino, & Solodkin, 2013).” (Small & Hickok, 2016, p. 5) parenthesis my own Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 3 Language What is the Neurobiology of Language? In a nutshell: Investigates neural mechanisms underlying language processing. Involves brain regions, neural pathways, and cognitive processes. Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 4 Language Key Brain Areas Broca's Area Location: Frontal lobe Function: Language production and grammatical processing (posterior area of the Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus (LIFG)) Wernicke's Area Location: Temporal lobe (in the posterior part of the Superior Temporal Source: Gyrus (STG)) https://psychology-info.com/areas-of- Function: Language the-brain-involved-in-speech- comprehension production-and-comprehension Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 5 Language Key Brain Areas Broca's Area Location: Frontal lobe Function: Language production and grammatical processing Wernicke's Area Location: Temporal lobe Function: Language comprehension Additional Regions Angular gyrus and supramarginal gyrus (reading and Source: unknown (copyrighted writing) material) Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 6 Language  Lesions Paul Broca’s patient Could only reply with “tan” Post-death physical analysis of brain (autopsy) Part of Left posterior inferior frontal gyrus exterior surface of the brain of damaged LeBorgne (“tan”) - source: Small & Hickok, 2016, p. 5 Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 7 Language Research Methods Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Measures blood flow changes to identify active brain regions. Neurobiology of Language Dr Shamala Sundaray 8 Research Methods Electroencephalography (EEG) Captures electrical brain activity via scalp electrodes. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 9 Language Research Methods What is Magnetoencephalography (MEG)? Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 10 Language  Recent Research Methods Study by Schell et al. (2017). Differential Cortical Contribution of Syntax and Semantics: An fMRI Study on Two-Word Phrasal Processing Focus: Sentence processing and syntactic complexity. Methodology: Participants presented with pairs of words. Words varied in syntactic and semantic relationships. fMRI data analyzed to map activation patterns. Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 11 Language  Recent Research Methods Study by Schell et al. (2017, p. 113) Key Findings - Brain Activation Patterns: Specific regions activated based on processing type: Inferior Frontal Gyrus (IFG): Significant role in syntactic processing. Angular gyrus: More engaged during semantic processing. Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 12 Language Recent Research Methods Study by Schell et al. (2017). Differential Cortical Contribution of Syntax and Semantics: An fMRI Study on Two-Word Phrasal Processing Overall Implications: Supports a distributed network model in the brain. Syntax and semantics processed through distinct yet interacting pathways. Highlights the complexity of language processing. Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 13 Language Recent Research Methods Dikker & Pylkkänen (2013). Predicting language: MEG evidence for lexical preactivation. Focus: Explore the concept of lexical preactivation in language processing. Investigated how the brain anticipates upcoming words using MEG. Methodology: Participants listen to sentences with varying predictability for the final word. MEG data collected to analyze neural activity related to word prediction. Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 14 Language Recent Research Methods Dikker & Pylkkänen (2013). Predicting language: MEG evidence for lexical preactivation. Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 15 Language Recent Research Methods Dikker & Pylkkänen, 2013. Findings: Brain shows early responses linked to the activation of expected words, namely in the “…left mid-temporal cortex (implicated in lexical access), ventro-medial prefrontal cortex (associated with e.g., top-down processing, multi-sensory integration and prediction error responses), and visual cortex (hypothesized to index the preactivation of predicted form features), successively; the same brain regions that exhibited enhanced activation for predictive contexts before the onset of the noun showed effects of congruence during the target word.” (p. 62) Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 16 Language Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 17 Language Key Findings of Neurobiology of Language Importance of Neuroplasticity Brain's ability to reorganize and form new neural connections. Skipper, J. I., Aliko, S., Brown, S., Jo, Y. J., Lo, S., Molimpakis, E., & Lametti, D. R. (2021). Reorganization of the Neurobiology of Language After Sentence Overlearning. Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 18 Language Skipper, et al (2021). Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 19 Language Implications of Findings Language processing relies on both structural and dynamic interactions. Language processing is shaped by the brain's functional architecture. Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 20 Language Language Network Concept of the Language Network Involves multiple interconnected brain regions Coordinated activity is essential for language use. (Aliko et al. 2023, p. 19). Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 21 Language Aliko et al. (2023). "The entire brain, more or less, is at work: ‘Language regions’ are artefacts of averaging" challenge the conventional understanding of localized "language regions" in the brain suggest that these regions may be misleading due to averaging effects in neuroimaging studies. argue that the brain operates as a highly interconnected network, rather than as isolated areas dedicated solely to language processing. Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 22 Language Aliko et al. (2023). "The entire brain, more or less, is at work: ‘Language regions’ are artefacts of averaging" employed neuroimaging techniques to analyze brain activity during language tasks, found multiple brain regions, beyond the traditionally identified language areas, contribute to language processing.  the entire brain is engaged in language activities, with various regions working in concert rather than independently. Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 23 Language Aliko et al. (2023). "The entire brain, more or less, is at work: ‘Language regions’ are artefacts of averaging" the prevalent model of discrete language centres in the brain is an oversimplification, resulting from averaging data across different individuals and contexts. advocate for a more nuanced understanding of brain function that considers the dynamic interactions among various neural regions during language use. Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 24 Language Aliko et al. (2023). "The entire brain, more or less, is at work: ‘Language regions’ are artefacts of averaging" growing body of evidence supporting the notion of a distributed network for language processing in the brain, emphasizing the importance of re- evaluating how we conceptualize and study language-related brain functions. Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 25 Language Concluding remarks Neurobiology of Language is an Evolving Field Ongoing research enhances understanding of brain language processing. Implications Insights for education, therapy, and artificial intelligence. Recent research enhances our understanding of language production and comprehension. Future studies will continue to uncover neural mechanisms of language. Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 26 Language References Aliko, S., Wang, B., Small, S.L., & Skipper, J.I. (2023). The entire brain, more or less, is at work: ‘Language regions’ are artefacts of averaging. bioRxiv. Dikker, S., & Pylkkänen, L. (2013). Predicting language: MEG evidence for lexical preactivation. Cognitive Science, 37(8), 1475-1492. https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.12053 Schell, M., Zaccarella, E., & Friederici, A. D. (2017). Differential cortical contribution of syntax and semantics: An fMRI study on two-word phrasal processing. Cortex, 96, 105–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2017.09.002 Skipper, J. I., Aliko, S., Brown, S., Jo, Y. J., Lo, S., Molimpakis, E., & Lametti, D. R. (2021). Reorganization of the Neurobiology of Language After Sentence Overlearning. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 33(3), 425-438. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01651 Hickok, G., & Small, S. L. (Eds.). (2016). Neurobiology of language. Elsevier/AP. Neurobiology of Dr Shamala Sundaray 27 Language