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Neurology > Language > Flashcards

Language Flashcards

1
Q

What is language?

A

A system for representing, communicating information about the world using symbols and rules

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2
Q

What are the different types of language?

A

Natural language vs. ‘formal’ languages

Formal languages
= finite systems of signs and rules for combination

Human language vs. animal languages
- Bees, primates, cetaceans
- Closed / finite vs. generative
- Capable of representing 
  abstract concepts
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3
Q

Where do languages come from?

A

Modern languages evolved from ancestral languages

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4
Q

What are the functional components of language?

A
  1. Articulation (Phonetics)
  2. Phonology
  3. Meaning (Semantics)
  4. Syntax
  5. Comprehension
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5
Q

What is articulation?

A

Movement of the tongue, lips and jaw to modify a sound wave

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6
Q

How is articulation classified?

A

Classified by place of articulation

  • Labial
  • Alveolar
  • Palatal

And by manner of articulation

  • Voiced vs. unvoiced
  • Fricative, plosive etc.
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7
Q

What is phonology?

A

The sound combinations from which the syllables and words of a language are built up

‘Legal’ phonological structure varies across languages

The International phonetic alphabet (IPA) is used as a common notation

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8
Q

What is semantics?

A

The representation in long term memory of concepts and the relations between them

Actions, objects, properties → verbs, nouns and adjectives

Largely independent of grammar

Mapping between concepts and symbols generally arbitrary
though nb onomatopoeia – e.g. ‘hiss’

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9
Q

What is syntax?

A

The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language

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10
Q

What does syntax rely upon?

A

Relies on grammatical markers and word order

In English, word order (SVO) is paramount in assigning role:

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11
Q

What is comprehension?

A

The ability to represent the meaning of words or sentences spoken or written by another person

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12
Q

What factors contribute to comprehension?

A

context
pitch
stress
prosody

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13
Q

Describe the structures of the language network

A

Dependent on a left hemisphere of cortical regions and white matter connections

Left inferior gyrus (broca’s area)
Inferior frontal lobe

Auditory cortex critical for understanding speech

Anterior regions of temporal lobe needed for representing meaning

Wernicke’s area important for decoding an incoming speech signal

White matter tract - arcuate fasciculus connects anterior and posterior parts of the language network together

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14
Q

Which part of the brain language network is responsible for articulation and phonology?

A

Dependent on the inferior and apercular parts of the motor homunculus of cortex; (anterior portions of broca’s area) - control movements of tongue, mouth, larynx and glottis

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15
Q

Which brain region mediates meaning and semantics?

A

L+R Temporal poles due to dense interconnections between them with widespread regions of association cortex

‘Modality-independent’ representations

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16
Q

Where is syntax regulated?

A

Arrangement of words into meaningful sentences is mediated via the left inferior frontal gyrus, extending into the insula

17
Q

Which part of the language network is responsible for comprehension?

A 
Primary auditory cortex to hear
Temporal poles allows understanding of symbols
Left inferior frontal gyrus for syntax
Arcuate fasciculus
Left posterior superior
Temporal gyrus
18
Q

What can cause language change?

A

Brain damage due to

  1. stroke (ischaemic/haemorrhagic)
  2. Neurodegeneration
19
Q

What disorders are caused by stroke?

A

Broca’s aphasia
Wernicke’s aphasia
Conduction aphasia
Adynamic aphasia

20
Q

What is broca’s aphasia?

A

Difficulty with articulation and phonology

Speech: Halting, fragmented, distorted, agrammatic

Comprehension: Preserved for words; reduced for sentences

Follows damage to: Broca’s area

Typical pathologies: Middle cerebral artery infarction; haemorrhagic stroke

21
Q

Describe Wernicke’s Aphasia

A

AKA ‘Receptive aphasia’ or ‘sensory aphasia’

Speech: Fluent, often with meaningless phonological strings

Follows damage to: posterior regions of language network

Typical pathologies: penetrating brain injury; cerebral haemorrhage

22
Q

What is conduction aphasia?

A

Difficulty with repetition

Speech characteristics: Mild fluency and comprehension difficulties

Test: single word and sentence repetition

Follows damage to
posterior perisylvian regions and underlying white matter

Typical pathologies
lacunar stroke

23
Q

Outline dynamic aphasia

A

Difficulty planning, initiating or maintaining speech

Speech characteristics: Reduced, fragmentary, echoic, preservative speech

Test: High vs. low constraint sentence completion

Follows damage to
Anterior left inferior frontal gyrus (BA 45)

Typical pathologies
Left anterior cerebral artery infarction

24
Q

What are the different types of neurodegeneration

A
  • Nonfluent progressive aphasia
  • Fluent progressive aphasia
  • Logopenic progressive aphasia
25
Q

Describe nonfluent progressive aphasia

A

Slow, distorted, agrammatic speech production

Begins with subtle changes – progressive course

Phonological and grammatical errors in spontaneous speech

Single word comprehension well preserved

Difficulty understanding sentences

Typical pathology
Primary tauopathy [FTD-Tau]

26
Q

What is fluent progressive aphasia?

A

Normal sounding speech rate and production empty of content

Begins with subtle word-finding changes

Generic word and pronoun use spontaneous speech

Profound single word comprehension difficulties

Location of pathology

Anterior temporal regions

Typical pathology
TDP-43 proteinopathy [FTD-TDP]

27
Q

What is lopogenic progressive aphasia?

A

Begins with subtle word-finding changes

Poverty of speech output

Occasional errors in syntax and phonology; poor sentence repetition

Posterior perisylvian pathology

Typical pathology
Alzheimer’s disease

Neurology (20 decks)

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