The document discusses the relationship between the brain and language. It describes how early researchers like Franz Joseph Gall proposed that specific cognitive functions are localized to different parts of the brain. For example, he suggested that language is localized to the frontal lobe. Later studies found that language is primarily localized to the left hemisphere, especially Broca's area in the frontal lobe. The brain shows plasticity early in life, as children can sometimes reacquire language even after damage to the left hemisphere. However, there is a critical period for language acquisition in childhood, after which it becomes much harder for individuals to fully acquire language. The document also discusses cases of individuals with isolated language abilities or impairments despite overall intellectual function.

1. Brain
and
Language

2. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2
The brain is the most important and complex
organ of the body.
Cortex of the brain, it is the decision-making part
of the body

3. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 3
Franz Joseph Gall -Theory of
localization Different human
cognitive abilities and behaviors are
localized in specific parts of the
brain.
He proposed that language is located
in the frontal lobe of the brain

4. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 4
Aphasia is a neurological term for any
language disorder that results from acquired
brain damage caused by disease or trauma.

5. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 5
In 1860s he proposed that language is
localized in the left hemisphere of the
brain, and more specifically in the front
part of the left hemisphere (now called
Broca’s area)

6. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 6
It is when surgeon severs the corpus callosum, the
fibrous network that connects the two halves.

7. Brain Plasticity
BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 7

8. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 8
While the left hemisphere is innately predisposed to
specialize for language, there is also evidence of
considerable plasticity in the system during the early
stages of language development.

9. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 9
Children, who undergo a left
hemispherectomy experience
an initial period of aphasia,
but in certain cases, may
reacquire a linguistic system
like that of normal children.
The plasticity of the brain
decreases with age and with
the increasing specialization
of the different hemispheres
and regions of the brain.

10. The
CriticalPeriod
BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 10

11. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 11
The Critical Period is
linked to brain
lateralizacion. The
human brain is
primed to develop
language in specific
areas of the left
hemisphere, but the
normal process of
brain specialization
depends on early and
systematic experience
with language.

12. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 12
The Critical-age
hyphethesis asserts that
language is biologically
based and that the ability
to learn a native language
develops within a fixed
period, from birth to
middle childhood. .

13. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 13
During this Critical period,
language acquisition proceeds
easily, swiftly, and without
external intervention. After this
period, the acquisition of
grammar is difficult and, for
most individuals, never fully
achieved. (Children deprived of
language during this critical
period show atypical patterns of
brain lateralization).

14. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 14
Regardless of the case of the
isolation, none of these children
was able to speak or knew any
language at time they were
reintroduced into society. In the
documented cases of Victor And
Genie, however, these children
were unable to acquire grammar
even after years of exposure, and
despite the ability to learn many
words.

15. The Modular Mind:
Dissociations of
Language and
Cognition
BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 15

16. There are numerous cases of
intellectually handicapped
individuals who despite their
disabilities in certain spheres,
show remarkable talents in other.
There are superb musicians and
artists who lack the simple
abilities required to take care of
themselves. Such people are
referred to as savants.
BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 16

17. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 17
1. Case:
Christopher. He lives in an institution
because he is unable to take care of
himself. However, his linguistic
competence is as rich and as sophisticated
as that of any native speaker. He can
translate quickly: Germanic languages such
as Danish, Dutch, and German; Romance
languages such as French, Italian,
Portuguese, and Spanish, as well as Polish,
Finnish, Greek, Hindi, Turkish, and Welsh.

18. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 18
People like Laura and Christopher
have normal or superior linguistic
skill though their abilities in other
areas are very limited. There are
individuals who show the opposite
profile: among these are children
with Specific Language
Impairment. They show no other
cognitive deficits, they are not
autistic or retarder, and they have
no perceptual problem. Only their
linguistic ability is affected, and
often only specific aspects of
grammar are impaired.

19. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 19
Research like Geschwind’s
sits at the intersection of two
fields: behavioral genetics
and evolutionary biology.
Each field depends on the
other to make sense of the
flood of studies on the
genetics of language now
pouring out of labs around the
world.

20. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 20
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