Language in an Embodied Brain: the Role of Animal Models

Dick, Frederic; Saygın, Ayşe Pınar; Moineau, Suzanne; Aydelott, Jennifer; Bates, Elizabeth

doi:10.1016/s0010-9452(08)70960-2

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Pinker, 1994). Alternatively, language may emerge from, and along with, non-linguistic skills that provide component "building blocks" for language abilities, such as sensory, motor, joint attention, and gesturing abilities (Thelen & Smith, 1994;Dick, Saygin, Moineau, Aydelott, & Bates, 2004;MacWhinney, 1999). In the latter case, the processing of meaningful information could originate in a common, domain-general system and through development could be refined into separate categories of information.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A developmental ERP study of verbal and non-verbal semantic processing

et al. 2008

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To clarify how different the processing of verbal information is from the processing of meaningful non-verbal information, the present study characterized the developmental changes in neural responses to words and environmental sounds from pre-adolescence (7-9 years) through adolescence (12-14 years) to adulthood (18-25 years). Children and adults' behavioral and electrophysiological responses (the N400 effect of event-related potentials) were compared during the processing of words and environmental sounds presented in semantically matching and mismatching picture contexts. Behavioral accuracy of picture-sound matching improved until adulthood, while reaction time measures leveled out by age 12. No major electrophysiological changes in the N400 effect were observed between pre-adolescence and adolescence. When compared to adults, children demonstrated significant maturational changes including longer latencies and larger amplitudes of the N400 effect. Interestingly, these developmental differences were driven by stimulus type: the Environmental Sound N400 effect decreased in latency from adolescence to adulthood, while no age effects were observed in response to Words. Thus, while the semantic processing of single words is well established by 7 years of age, the processing of environmental sounds continues to improve throughout development.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A developmental ERP study of verbal and non-verbal semantic processing

et al. 2008

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“…While the "innateness" account postulates that humans are born with pre-wired neural network devoted to language processing (Pinker, 1994), the "emergenist" account (Bates, in press) suggests that, while inborn morpho-functional biases exist, language ability is built on the basis of nonlinguistic skills such as sensory, motor, attention, and gestures (MacWhinney, 1999;Dick et al, 2004). Therefore, emergence and development of language should be examined in the context of maturation of its non-linguistic precursors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Event-related potentials reflect spectral differences in speech and non-speech stimuli in children and adults

Čėponiené

Torki

Alku³

et al. 2008

Clinical Neurophysiology

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Objective-Event-related brain potentials (ERP) may provide tools for examining normal and abnormal language development. To clarify functional significance of auditory ERPs, we examined ERP indices of spectral differences in speech and non-speech sounds.Methods-Three Spectral Items (BA, DA, GA) were presented as three Stimulus Types: syllables, non-phonetics, and consonant-vowel transitions. Fourteen 7-10-year-old children and 14 adults were presented with equiprobable Spectral Item sequences blocked by Stimulus Type.Results-Spectral Item effect appeared as P1, P2, N2, and N4 amplitude variations. The P2 was sensitive to all Stimulus Types in both groups. In adults, the P1 was also sensitive to transitions while the N4 was sensitive to syllables. In children, only the 50-ms CVT stimuli elicited N2 and N4 spectral effects. Non-phonetic stimuli elicited larger N1-P2 amplitudes while speech stimuli elicited larger N2-N4 amplitudes.Conclusions-Auditory feature processing is reflected by P1-P2 and N2-N4 peaks and matures earlier than supra-sensory integrative mechanisms, reflected by N1-P2 peaks. Auditory P2 appears to pertain to both processing types.Significance-These results delineate an orderly processing organization whereby direct feature mapping occurs earlier in processing and, in part, serves sound detection whereas relational mapping occurs later in processing and serves sound identification.

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“…Language has been one of the most paradigmatic areas in which nature versus nurture and domain-specific versus domain-general debates took place (Elman et al 1996). We have long held that language is best viewed as a complex skill that emerges from adaptations of domain-general sensorimotor neural systems (Dick et al 2004;Saygin et al 2003), nicely summarized by the late Elizabeth Bates as "language is a new machine built out of old parts" (Bates et al 1988).…”

Section: A C K N O W L E D G M E N T I Gratefully Acknowledge Fundingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The origin and function of mirror neurons: The missing link

Lingnau¹,

Caramazza²

2014

Behav Brain Sci

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We argue, by analogy to the neural organization of the object recognition system, that demonstration of modulation of mirror neurons by associative learning does not imply absence of genetic adaptation. Innate connectivity defines the types of processes mirror neurons can participate in while allowing for extensive local plasticity. However, the proper function of these neurons remains to be worked out.

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Language in an Embodied Brain: the Role of Animal Models

Cited by 8 publications

References 8 publications

A developmental ERP study of verbal and non-verbal semantic processing

A developmental ERP study of verbal and non-verbal semantic processing

Event-related potentials reflect spectral differences in speech and non-speech stimuli in children and adults

The origin and function of mirror neurons: The missing link

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