Introduction
As we can know the brain is one of the most complex and important organs that the human being possesses; and in this blog we will be analyzing the connection that it has with language. All the content shown will be essential to have a better understanding on this wonderful subject. We will also be showing advances in diagnosing problems that prevent the development of a good language. We hope that this topic is of your interest and so you can have a better understanding of the brain about language.
This is our team!
Hello, I am Arnold Fernández, I am twenty years old, I am from San Pedro Sula and I live in Tegucigalpa with my family. I consider myself a relaxed, happy, calm and honest person. I love to play soccer, exercising and listening to music. I want graduate from university and fully learn the English language. In the future, I hope to teach this beautiful language.
Hello I am Esthefani Guzman I am a student of foreign languages I live in Siguatepeque and I live with my sisters I like to skate with my friends on weekends I like languages and for that reason I decided to study this degree I hope to learn a lot during these years at the moment English and Portuguese are my favorite languages.
I'm Edgar Martinez, I'm 25 years old. I'm a student of
the program of foreign languages at the Unah, After graduating from a foreign
language degree, I would like to pursue another degree and thus fulfill one of
my life goals.
Entertaining video on this topic
Click here to watch : Presentation
Relevant images
Our brain's ability with language
Language, shape the physical structures of our brains. When two neurons respond to a stimulus (such as a word), they begin to form chemical and physical pathways to each other, which are strengthened or weakened depending on how often they are co-activated. This process of “neurons that fire together, wire together” is the basis for all learning, and is reflected in the formation of gray matter (where neurons communicate with each other) and white matter (fatty tracts connecting gray matter regions).
Paul Broca, The Discoverer of The Speech Region of The Brain
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Through post-mortem studies of patients with aphasia - a language disorder that hinders the ability to communicate through speech - the French physician and anatomist Paul Broca detected damage in the same area of the brain. This led to the discovery of the region responsible for language production, which was eventually named Broca's area.
Paul Pierre Broca was born on June 28, 1824 in Bordeaux. He was a child prodigy who was interested in various disciplines, such as literature, mathematics and physics. He also studied medicine, a career he finished when he was only 20 years old, when most of his contemporaries were just beginning their studies.
Area of aphasia in the brain
Location Wernicke's area
It is the main area for language comprehension;
therefore, it is the most important region of the entire brain for higher
intellectual functions. It is located behind the primary auditory cortex, in
the posterior part of the superior gyrus of the temporal lobe.
Location Broca’s area
It is located in the frontal lobe, more specifically
in its third frontal gyrus, in the opercular and triangular sections of the
dominant hemisphere for language (left hemisphere).
SUMMARY
Brain and Language
1) Human brain: the
brain is the most complex organ of the body. It is the organ in charge of
controlling and coordinating all the movements we make and processing sensory
information.
a) Cortex: The
cortex is the decision-making organ of the body. It receives messages from all
of the sensory organs, initiates all voluntary and involuntary actions, and is
the storehouse of our memories and the seat of our consciousness.
b) Cerebral hemisphere: are
the two portions that represent the brain (left and right), this in turn is
composed of the temporal, parietal, frontal and occipital lobes.
c) Corpus callosum: it
allows the two hemispheres of the brain to communicate with each other. Without
this system of connections, the hemispheres would operate independently.
d) Contralateral: it
is the function of the brain in which sensory information from the right side
of the body (e.g., right ear, right hand, right visual field) is received by
the left hemisphere of the brain, and sensory information from the left side of
the body It is received by the right hemisphere.
2) The localization of language in the brain:
a) Left hemisphere: it is considered the dominant hemisphere for being the
one that knows how to communicate, speak, read, write, count, even reason. In
it there are two structures the "Broca's Area" and "Wernicke's
Area".
I.
Broca’s
area: its main function is the production
of speech. It is located in the frontal lobe, more specifically in its third
frontal gyrus.
II.
Wernicke’s
area: its main function is
the understanding of language and gives the ability to communicate coherent
ideas. It is located relatively between the auditory cortex and the visual
cortex.
3) Aphasia: is the
neurological term for any language disorder resulting from acquired brain
damage caused by disease or trauma. The study of this has been important to
understand the relationship between the brain and language.
b) Broca’s aphasia: it
is damage to the broca area where the motor programs that control speech and
writing are interrupted.
c) Wernicke’s aphasia: it is damage to Wernicke's area that causes loss of
language comprehension.
4) Slip brains: it is
the separation between the left and right hemisphere of the brain, this happens
through the cut of the corpus callosum. The two hemispheres appear to be
independent, and messages sent to the brain result in different responses,
depending on which side receives the message.
5) Dichotic listening: it is an
experimental technique that uses auditory signals to observe the behavior of
the individual hemispheres of the human brain.
a) Event-related potential (ERPs): are the electrical signals emitted from the brain in
response to different stimuli. This technique demonstrates that the brain is
electrically active and that this electrical activity can be measured both by
its strength and its pattern over time.
Click here to watch: Semantic map
Important questions
1. What is the relationship between the brain and language?
Image result
for brain and language questions for more than a century, it has been
established that our ability to use language is generally located in the left
hemisphere of the brain, specifically in two areas: Broca's area (associated
with the production and articulation of speech) and Wernicke's area (associated
with comprehension).
2. Can learning a foreign language increase brain size?
The study is
part of a growing body of research using brain imaging technologies to better
understand the cognitive benefits of language learning.
Tools such as
magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electrophysiology, among others, can now
tell us what is happening in our brains when we listen to, understand and
produce second languages.
3. What is the
localization of language in the brain?
Our ability to
use language is generally located in the left hemisphere of the brain,
specifically in two areas: Broca's area (associated with the production and
articulation of speech) and Wernicke's area (associated with comprehension).
4. What is
neurolinguistics?
Neurolinguistics is a discipline that studies the relationship between the human brain and language. It analyzes the functioning of those parts of the brain that favor knowledge, comprehension and acquisition of language, both written and spoken.
5. What is Aphasia?
Aphasia is a disorder that results from damage to portions of the brain that are responsible for language. For most people, these areas are on the left side of the brain.
6. What does Broca’s aphasia affect?
Broca’s aphasia
results from damage to a part of the brain called Broca’s area, which is
located in the frontal lobe, usually on the left side. It’s one of the parts of
the brain responsible for speech and motor movement.
One of the most
notable characteristics of Broca’s aphasia is that the language produced is
often agrammatic, meaning that it frequently lacks articles, prepositions,
pronouns, auxiliary verbs, and other function words.
It’s named for
Pierre Paul Broca, a French physician who discovered the area in 1861.
7. What is
Wernicke's aphasia?
Wernicke’s
aphasia is a medical problem caused by damage to the parts of the brain
responsible for language. For most people, these areas are on the left side of
the brain. Aphasia usually occurs suddenly. It is often the result of a head
injury or stroke. It can also develop gradually, as in the case of a brain
tumor or progressive neurological disease. The disorder affects understanding
of what others say, as well as speech. It also affects reading and writing.
Aphasia can appear together with some speech disorders such as dysarthria or
apraxia of speech. These are also the result of damage to the brain.
8. What is the contra-lateral brain and what
are its functions?
Is the property
that the hemispheres of the cerebrum and the thalamus represent mainly the
contralateral side of the body.
Function, the
left side of the forebrain mostly represents the right side of the body, and
the right side of the brain primarily represents the left side of the body.
9. How does
the study of another language facilitate the learning of a third or fourth
language?
Bilingualism
can make your brain more efficient at handling the sheer volume of information
that comes in second by second, helping you focus on what matters and ignore
distracting input. which may explain why learning a second language can make it
easier for you to learn a third or fourth.
10. What have
neuroimaging shown in terms of linguistics?
In terms of
linguistics, neuroimaging has shown that language helps improve attention and
sensitivity to sounds, even after childhood, and also when learning another
language later in life.
Important and interesting information articles
Authors' reflections
Edgar Martinez
This has been a very interesting project to carry out, as well as interesting it has also been a bit difficult to carry out since I include many works in one, a recommendation for a type of work so it takes more time to be able to do it well, here an advantage was that we carried out this teamwork and thus we were able to conclude with this work, in the end this work was a good challenge since it helped us to review previous topics that we had seen, it helped us to refresh the knowledge that we already had on the topics that we have seen before.
Arnold Fernández
Although this
project was long, complex and a bit complicated, I feel that on the one hand I
liked it because I learned a lot about the topic that was assigned to my group,
and I also learned to work as a team and to divide the work fairly. However, I
did not like that we had so little time to do this task, because in addition to
this assignment I also had other assignments from other classes. What would
change about this project is that we could teach it in classes to the other
groups so that we all learn about all the assigned topics, but that we have
been given enough time to prepare for the exhibition. My suggestion is that if
you leave such a long job, you should consider giving a fairly fair amount of
time. In everything else the project is very well elaborated, entertaining and
very complete.
Olvin Martinez
As a reflection on the subject, we are not yet aware of the capacity of the brain, but thanks to the advances of several doctors throughout history and to technology we can have a more concrete idea of how it influences language. Technological advances have helped us to identify these language problems in a faster and more accurate way and we are adapting to live with these advances.
Esthefani Guzman
I liked working
in a group and being able to share different opinions, work in interesting and
easy to use platforms, I liked this project because it is a summary of all the
topics that are necessary to know for a better understanding.
Personally, I learned a lot from all the topics seen in class as well as the topic addressed in this blog, i think it was a clear topic to understand.
3. What you would change and the suggestions you would give to improve this project?
In my opninion
I think that the topics and points that were covered to make the blog were
clear and understandable I would suggest perhaps adding new platforms to
continue learning and have more access to new programs update.
References
Hayakawa, S. Marian, V. (2019, April 30). How Language Shapes the Brain. Scientific American. Retrieved from; https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/how-language-shapes-the-brain/.
Elsevier Connect. (2019, October 28). Functions of the cerebral cortex: Wernicke's, Broca's and limbic association areas. ELSEVIER. Retrieved from; https://www.elsevier.com/es-es/connect/medicina/edu-funciones-de-la-corteza-cerebral#:~:text=%C3%81rea%20de%20Wernicke%3A%20es%20el,circunvoluci%C3%B3n%20superior%20del%20l%C3%B3bulo%20temporal.
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