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This book is an entry into the fierce current debate among psycholinguists, neuroscientists, and evolutionary theorists about the nature and origins of human language. A prominent neuroscientist here takes up the Darwinian case, using data seldom considered by psycholinguists and neurolinguists to argue that human language--though more sophisticated than all other forms of animal communication--is not a qualitatively different ability from all forms of animal communication, does not require a quantum evolutionary leap to explain it, and is not unified in a single'language instinct.'Using clinical evidence from speech-impaired patients, functional neuroimaging, and evolutionary biology to make his case, Philip Lieberman contends that human language is not a single separate module but a functional neurological system made up of many separate abilities. Language remains as it began, Lieberman argues: a device for coping with the world. But in a blow to human narcissism, he makes the case that this most remarkable human ability is a by-product of our remote reptilian ancestors'abilities to dodge hazards, seize opportunities, and live to see another day.

In the last ten years the neuroscience of language has matured as a field. Ten years ago, neuroimaging was just being explored for neurolinguistic questions, whereas today it constitutes a routine component. At the same time there have been significant developments in linguistic and psychological theory that speak to the neuroscience of language. This book consolidates those advances into a single reference. The Handbook of the Neuroscience of Language provides a comprehensive overview of this field. Divided into five sections, section one discusses methods and techniques including clinical assessment approaches, methods of mapping the human brain, and a theoretical framework for interpreting the multiple levels of neural organization that contribute to language comprehension. Section two discusses the impact imaging techniques (PET, fMRI, ERPs, electrical stimulation of language cortex, TMS) have made to language research. Section three discusses experimental approaches to the field, including disorders at different language levels in reading as well as writing and number processing. Additionally, chapters here present computational models, discuss the role of mirror systems for language, and cover brain lateralization with respect to language. Part four focuses on language in special populations, in various disease processes, and in developmental disorders. The book ends with a listing of resources in the neuroscience of language and a glossary of items and concepts to help the novice become acquainted with the field. Editors Stemmer & Whitaker prepared this book to reflect recent developments in neurolinguistics, moving the book squarely into the cognitive neuroscience of language and capturing the developments in the field over the past 7 years. History section focuses on topics that play a current role in neurolinguistics research, aphasia syndromes, and lesion analysis Includes section on neuroimaging to reflect the dramatic changes in methodology over the past decade Experimental and clinical section reflects recent developments in the field

This volume has been composed as an appreciation of Martin L. Albert in the year of his 60th birthday. At least one contributor to each paper in this volume has been touched by Marty in some way; lie has mentored some, been a fellow student with some, and been a colleague to most. These contributors, as well as many others, view Marty as a gifted scientist and a wonderful human being. The breadth of his interests and intellectual pursuits is truly impressive; this breadth is reflected, only in part. by the diversity of the papers in this volume. His interests have ranged from psychopharmacology to cross-cultural understanding of dementia, through the aphasias, to the history of the fields that touch on behavioral neurology, especially neurology per se, cognitive psychology, speech-language pathology, and linguistics. Throughout his scholarly work, Martha Taylor Sarno notes, Marty never loses the human perspective, e. g., the “powerfully disabling effect on the individual person” with aphasia or other neurological disorder. For those readers who only how a portion of his work, we thought that we should describe him here. Many of the people whom Marty has influenced have been able to contribute to this volume. We have invited some others who were unable to contribute to express their appreciation for him, as well.

The only way we can convey our thoughts in detail to another person is through verbal language. Does this imply that our thoughts ultimately rely on words? Is there only one way in which thoughts can occur? This ambitious book takes the contrary position, arguing that many possible'languages of thought'play different roles in the life of the mind.'Language'is more than communication. It is also a means of representing information in both working and long-term memory. It provides a set of rules for combining and manipulating those representations.A stellar lineup of international cognitive scientists, philosophers, and artists make the book's case that the brain is multilingual. Among topics discussed in the section on verbal languages are the learning of second languages, recovering language after brain damage, and sign language, and in the section on nonverbal languages, mental imagery, representations of motor activity, and the perception and representation of space.

Neural Models of Language Processes offers an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the nature of human language and the means whereby we use it. The book is organized into five parts. Part I provides an opening framework that addresses three tasks: to place neurolinguistics in current perspective; to provide two case studies of aphasia; and to discuss the''rules of the game''of the various disciplines that contribute to this volume. Part II on artificial intelligence (AI) and processing models discusses the contribution of AI to neurolinguistics. The chapters in this section introduce three AI systems for language perception: the HWIM and HEARSAY systems that proceed from an acoustic input to a semantic interpretation of the utterance it represents, and Marcus9 system for parsing sentences presented in text. Studying these systems demonstrates the virtues of implemented or implementable models. Part III on linguistic and psycholinguistic perspectives includes studies such as nonaphasic language behavior and the linguistics and psycholinguistics of sign language. Part IV examines neurological perspectives such as the neuropathological basis of Broca's aphasia and the simulation of speech production without a computer. Part V on neuroscience and brain theory includes studies such as the histology, architectonics, and asymmetry of language areas; hierarchy and evolution in neurolinguistics; and perceptual-motor processes and the neural basis of language.

The Handbook of Neurolinguistics is a state-of-the-art reference and resource book; it describes current research and theory in the many subfields of neurolinguistics and its clinical application. Thorough and clearly written, the handbook provides an excellent overview of the field of neurolinguistics and its development. The book is organized into five parts covering the history of neurolinguistics, methods in clinical and experimental neurolinguistics, experimental neurolinguistics, clinical neurolinguistics, and resources in neurolinguistics. The first four parts contain a wide range of topics which discuss all important aspects of the many subfields of neurolinguistics. Also included are the relatively new and fast developing areas of research in discourse, pragmatics, and recent neuroimaging techniques. The resources section provides currently available resources, both traditional and modern. The handbook is useful to the newcomer to the field, as well as the expert searching for the latest developments in neurolinguistics. Clearly written and well organized Provides extensive resources Discusses both history and current research Covers the many subfields of neurolinguistics as well the developing areas of research

Studies in Neurolinguistics, Volume 3 presents detailed case histories, multi-subject experimental studies, literature reviews, and research papers that employ a variety of experimental and observational techniques. This volume contains seven chapters that focus on a wide range of research in the field of neurolinguistics. Chapter 1 discusses the various approaches to the problem of auditory comprehension in aphasia. A survey of the world's literature on bilingualism and aphasia is provided in chapter 2. The third chapter examines the different models and explanations for conduction aphasia. Chapter 4 provides a synthesis of the anatomic, physiologic, and behavioral research on the role of the limbic system in human communication. Chapter 5 presents a model of individual differences in hemispheric functioning, in which a number of theories about the left and right hemispheres are analyzed and compared. Chapter 6 shows how different levels of language are revealed. The last chapter addresses'The Question of Electrophysiological Asymmetries Preceding Speech'in a study of the readiness potentials over the motor and premotor regions in eight subjects. Linguists, psychologists, and neurologists will find the book highly informative.