A Proposed Neurological Interpretation of Language Evolution

Ardila, Alfredo

doi:10.1155/2015/872487

Cited by 17 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 144 publications

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“…It has been proposed that language disorders provide hints about the evolution of the neural substrates of linguistic abilities (Code, 2011 ; Ardila, 2015 ). Therefore, studies on the discursive deficits of TBI subjects together with neuroarcheological investigations might be used to clarify the cognitive prerequisites for linguistic behavior, allowing us to connect the involvement of EFs in language processing with the issue of its origins.…”

Section: Executive Functions and Language Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Phylogenesis of Executive Functions and Their Connection with Language Evolution

Adornetti

2016

Front. Psychol.

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Section: Executive Functions and Language Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Phylogenesis of Executive Functions and Their Connection with Language Evolution

Adornetti

2016

Front. Psychol.

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“…The evolution of language is a slow process that takes thousands of years. But the most critical element of complex human language is the use of grammar, which likely appeared relatively recently in human history (Ardila, 2015;Bickerton, 2007).…”

Section: The Role Of Language In Higher Psychological Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

L.S. Vygotsky in the 21st century

Ardila¹

2016

Psych. Rus.

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Although Lev Vygotsky's interpretation of human cognition was proposed almost one century ago, new scientific and technological advances have significantly supported many of his ideas and hypotheses. His cultural-historical theory of psychological processes, and his contributions to educational psychology, have continued growing without interruption. In this paper, three of Vygotsky's hypotheses are examined in light of 21st century scientific developments:1) The influence of cultural factors on human cognition. A diversity of research studies in different countries has corroborated the crucial impact of culture on cognitive test performance;2) The role of language in higher psychological processes. According to Vygotsky's cultural-historical approach, cognitive processes ("complex psychological processes") are social in origin, but complex and hierarchical in their structure. Intrinsic to the systemic organization of higher cognitive processes is the engagement of external artifacts (objects, symbols, signs), which have an independent history of development within a culture; and3) The hypothesis that thought and general complex cognition is associated with certain "inner speech. " Some contemporary neuroimaging studies (particularly PET and fMRI) analyzing "inner speech" have been carried out. These studies have attempted to find the areas of the brain involved in "inner speech. " These scientific advances significantly support Vygotsky's interpretation of human cognition. It has been found that inner speech depends on activity in Broca's area and related brain network activity in the left hemisphere. Hence, inner speech is closely related to grammar, language production, and executive functions.Vygotsky's important contribution to the understanding of psychological processes has stimulated, and continues to stimulate, a substantial amount of research in this area.

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“…Code also argued that the recovery of aphasic speech parallels (early stages of) language evolution in our species. Likewise, Ardila (2006Ardila ( , 2015 took language changes due to aphasia as a basis for his hypothetization on language origin, suggesting a two-scale evolution of human language: selectional, or lexicalsemantic (as inspired by Wernicke's aphasia), and sequential, or grammatical (as inspired by Broca's aphasia). Underlying this sort of hypotheses is the view that language evolves from simpler to more complex forms and that complex language demands more sophisticated cognitive and behavioral abilities to be mastered, that only appeared fullfledged in our species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Language retrogenesis as a window to language evolution

Benítez‐Burraco¹,

Ivanova²

2021

Preprint

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Several structurally simplified forms of language (sometimes called, ‘degraded’) have been explored as possible proxies to previous stages in the evolution of language. In this paper, we focus on two of such forms, namely, child language and language in aging. Specifically, we re-examine the hypothesis of language retrogenesis, according to which language loss in aging parallels, though inversely, language acquisition by the child. We present evidence supporting this view, particularly, in the domain of complex aspects of language with high cognitive reliance, including lexical access (demanding the mapping of meanings to phonological representations), the understanding of non-literal meanings (demanding the access to the context and to encyclopedic knowledge), the resolution of lexical competition, and the understanding and production of complex syntactic structures (demanding more working memory resources). We further consider whether these changes recapitulate aspects of language phylogeny in the species. We have also found some support to this view, as the involved areas (like the inferior frontal gyrus), are phylogenetically newer, as shown by interspecies comparison. Finally, we advance a new testing arena for this hypothesis, involving some of the cortico-subcortical circuits controlling both reactive aggression and complex syntax.

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A Proposed Neurological Interpretation of Language Evolution

Cited by 17 publications

References 144 publications

On the Phylogenesis of Executive Functions and Their Connection with Language Evolution

On the Phylogenesis of Executive Functions and Their Connection with Language Evolution

L.S. Vygotsky in the 21st century

Language retrogenesis as a window to language evolution

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