Cogprints: No conditions. Results ordered -Date, Title. 2018-01-17T14:26:07ZEPrintshttp://cogprints.org/images/sitelogo.gifhttp://cogprints.org/2014-08-24T21:07:30Z2015-04-20T11:40:47Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/9756This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/97562014-08-24T21:07:30ZCo-Variations among Cognition, Cerebellar
Disorders and Cortical Areas With
Regional Glucose-Metabolic Activities in a
Homogeneous Sample with Uner Tan Syndrome:
Holistic Functioning of the Human BrainPatients with Uner Tan syndrome (UTS) exhibit habitual quadrupedal locomotion (QL), intellectual disability, dysarthric speech and truncal ataxia. Examination of cognitive ability in this syndrome has not yet been demonstrated in the scientific literature. Aims: (i) To analyze the cognitive abilities of the siblings with UTS; (ii) to assess the grade of their ataxia in relation to cerebellar disorders; (iii) to measure the metabolic activities of various cerebral regions in comparison with healthy individuals; (iv) to detect the interrelationships among all of the measured variables (IQ test scores, ataxia scores, cerebro-cerebellar areas and their metabolic activity levels) to reveal the holistic activity of the
brain. The Minimental State Examination (MMSE) and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-R) were applied to the affected cases and healthy subjects. Cerebellar disorders were assessed by the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS). Brain MRI scans were performed and cerebro-cerebellar areas were measured on MRI scans, including their metabolic activities (SUV), measured by positron emission tomography (PET) scanning. MMSE and WAIS-R scores both correlated with cerebro-cerebellar areas. Cerebello-vermial areas and their metabolic activities were significantly smaller in patients than in normal controls; areas of the remaining structures were not significantly different between patients and healthy subjects. Brain areas significantly inter-correlated: ICARS negatively correlated with WAIS-R,MMSE scores, SUV, and cerebro-cerebellar areas, which significantly correlated with each other. The results suggested (i) ICARS may not only be a test for cerebellar disorders, but also may be related to global functioning of all of the
cerebro-cerebellar regions; (ii) ICARS, WAIS-R and MMSE may be measures of emergent properties of the holistic
activity of the brain; (iii) the psychomotor disorders in UTS may be related to decreased brain metabolism.Prof. Dr. Uner Tanunertan37@yahoo.com2017-02-18T20:25:23Z2017-02-18T20:25:23Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/9772This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/97722017-02-18T20:25:23ZNeural Mechanism of LanguageThis paper is based on our previous work on neural coding. It is a self-organized model supported by existing evidences. Firstly, we briefly introduce this model in this paper, and then we explain the neural mechanism of language and reasoning with it. Moreover, we find that the position of an area determines its importance. Specifically, language relevant areas are in the capital position of the cortical kingdom. Therefore they are closely related with autonomous consciousness and working memories. In essence, language is a miniature of the real world. Briefly, this paper would like to bridge the gap between molecule mechanism of neurons and advanced functions such as language and reasoning. Dr. Peilei Liulpl1520@163.comProfessor Ting Wangtingwang1970@163.com2017-02-18T20:31:39Z2017-02-18T20:31:39Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/9819This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/98192017-02-18T20:31:39ZAbilità linguistiche, extralinguistiche e paralinguistiche in pazienti con lesioni focali all’emisfero destroPazienti con lesioni focali all’emisfero destro (RHD), pur mostrando abilità linguistiche complessivamente preservate, riportano frequentemente una compromissione delle abilità comunicative (Cummings, 2009), che interessa in modo particolare la sfera pragmatica: deficit nelle abilità conversazionali (Lehman, 2006), nella comprensione di espressioni non letterali (Papagno et al., 2006), nel riconoscimento della prosodia (Pell, 2007) e delle espressioni facciali (Kucharska-Pietura et al., 2003).
La maggior parte degli studi (e.g Cheang & Pell, 2006; McDonald, 2000) ha valutato le competenze pragmatiche dei pazienti RHD attraverso il canale linguistico, mentre è stata meno studiata la componente gestuale (Brownell, 1999). La Teoria della Pragmatica Cognitiva (Bara, 2010), propone un modello unitario della comunicazione, in cui la competenza comunicativa è indipendente dal mezzo, linguistico o extralinguistico, utilizzato per veicolare significati; conferme a tale modello si ritrovano in studi su popolazioni cliniche (Gabbatore et al., 2014, Angeleri et al., 2008).
Cutica et al. (2006), in particolare, hanno studiato le abilità pragmatiche in comprensione con un campione di pazienti con lesioni all’emisfero destro e sinistro (LHD), evidenziando come i pazienti RHD, rispetto a quelli LHD, mostrassero deficit più gravi nella componente extralinguistica, a conferma di una specializzazione dell’emisfero destro nelle componenti extralinguistiche e paralinguistiche. Data la grande variabilità di profili associati ai deficit comunicativi nei pazienti RHD (Myers, 2005), è fondamentale l’utilizzo di strumenti di assessment che permettano una valutazione globale ed approfondita (Angeleri et al., 2012). Un assessment puntuale è inoltre necessario per impostare trattamenti riabilitativi mirati (e.g. Bosco et al., 2013).Alberto Parolaa.parola@unito.itDr Ilaria GabbatoreFederico CossaPatrizia GindriBruno G. BaraFrancesca M. BoscoKatiuscia Sacco2011-10-27T01:35:05Z2011-10-27T01:35:05Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/7661This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/76612011-10-27T01:35:05ZCritical Foundations of the Contextual Theory of MindThe contextual mind is found attested in various usages of the term complement, in the background of Kant. The difficulties of Kant's intuitionism are taken up through Quine, but referential opacity is resolved as semantic presence in lived context. A further critique of rationalist linguistics is developed from Jakobson, showing generic functions in thought supporting abstraction, binding and thereby semantic categories. Thus Bolzano's influential philosophy of mathematics and science gives way to a critical view of the ancient heritage acknowledged by Plato.
Mr S.A. Orwin O'Dowd antiquari(at)vodamail(dot)co(dot)za2010-10-18T11:00:45Z2011-03-11T08:57:45Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/7048This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/70482010-10-18T11:00:45ZOctologyThe manuscript describes a new sciencific discipline called Octology, which should unify morphogenetic linguistics and neurobiology to investigate the development of the words, cognition and behavior.Dr. Andrej Poleevandrejpoleev@yahoo.com2010-01-30T03:40:45Z2011-03-11T08:57:35Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6776This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/67762010-01-30T03:40:45ZNeurocognitive Informatics Manifesto. Informatics studies all aspects of the structure of natural and artificial information systems. Theoretical and abstract approaches to information have made great advances, but human information processing is still unmatched in many areas, including information management, representation and understanding. Neurocognitive informatics is a new, emerging field that should help to improve the matching of artificial and natural systems, and inspire better computational algorithms to solve problems that are still beyond the reach of machines. In this position paper examples of neurocognitive inspirations and promising directions in this area are given.Wlodzislaw Duch2010-04-01T11:36:18Z2011-03-11T08:57:36Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6817This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/68172010-04-01T11:36:18ZThe complexity of theory of mindThere is no abstract for this paper.Livia ColleFrancesca M. BoscoMaurizio Tirassamaurizio.tirassa@unito.it2010-04-01T11:36:29Z2011-03-11T08:57:36Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6816This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/68162010-04-01T11:36:29ZTh.o.m.a.s.: An exploratory assessment of Theory of Mind in schizophrenic subjectsA large body of literature agrees that persons with schizophrenia suffer from a Theory of Mind (ToM) deficit. However, most empirical studies have focused on third-person, egocentric ToM, underestimating other facets of this complex cognitive skill. Aim of this research is to examine the ToM of schizophrenic persons considering its various aspects (first vs. second order, first vs. third person, egocentric vs. allocentric, beliefs vs. desires vs. positive emotions vs. negative emotions and how each of these mental state types may be dealt with), to determine whether some components are more impaired than others. We developed a Theory of Mind Assessment Scale (Th.o.m.a.s.) and administered it to 22 persons with a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia and a matching control group. Th.o.m.a.s. is a semi-structured interview which allows a multi-component measurement of ToM. Both groups were also administered a few existing ToM tasks and the schizophrenic subjects were administered the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale and the WAIS-R. The schizophrenic persons performed worse than control at all the ToM measurements; however, these deficits appeared to be differently distributed among different components of ToM. Our conclusion is that ToM deficits are not unitary in schizophrenia, which also testifies to the importance of a complete and articulated investigation of ToM.Francesca M. BoscoLivia ColleSilvia De FazioAdele BonoSaverio RubertiMaurizio Tirassa2008-08-13T14:42:25Z2011-03-11T08:57:10Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6163This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/61632008-08-13T14:42:25ZCONTRAST BETWEEN LIGHT AND SOUND WAVELENGTHS PERCEIVED BY HUMANS
A quantitative interrelation between the physical parameters of electromagnetic and acoustic waves perceived by the sight and hearing organs of a human has been discovered. It is shown that visible light wavelengths can be correlated with the range most used by humans for acoustic communication, including, in particular, verbal dialogue. It is shown, that maxima of spectroscopic sensitivity of the eye receptors are placed on the scale of wavelengths like musical consonance intervals (the small third, major third, quart). Alexey Benditskiybend106@gmail.comAlexandr Kovalev2008-08-10T08:56:48Z2011-03-11T08:57:10Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6159This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/61592008-08-10T08:56:48ZOn the nature and role of intersubjectivity in communicationWe outline a theory of human agency and communication and discuss the role that the capability to share (that is, intersubjectivity) plays in it. All the notions discussed are cast in a mentalistic and radically constructivist framework. We also introduce and discuss the relevant literature.Maurizio Tirassatirassa@psych.unito.itFrancesca M. Boscobosco@psych.unito.it2011-05-02T15:54:22Z2011-05-02T15:54:22Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/7300This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/73002011-05-02T15:54:22ZCreativity and the BrainNeurocognitive approach to higher cognitive functions that bridges the gap between psychological and neural level of description is introduced. Relevant facts about the brain, working memory and representation of symbols in the brain are summarized. Putative brain processes responsible for problem solving, intuition, skill learning and automatization are described. The role of non-dominant brain hemisphere in solving problems requiring insight is conjectured. Two factors seem to be essential for creativity: imagination constrained by experience, and filtering that selects most interesting solutions. Experiments with paired words association are analyzed in details and evidence for stochastic resonance effects is found. Brain activity in the process of invention of novel words is proposed as the simplest way to understand creativity using experimental and computational means. Perspectives on computational models of creativity are discussed.Wlodzislaw Duch2006-03-16Z2011-03-11T08:56:21Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/4764This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/47642006-03-16ZThe Missing Link between Morphemic Assemblies and Behavioral Responses:a Bayesian Information-Theoretical model of lexical processingWe present the Bayesian Information-Theoretical (BIT) model of lexical processing: A mathematical model illustrating a novel approach to the modelling of language processes. The model shows how a neurophysiological theory of lexical processing relying on Hebbian association and neural assemblies can directly account for a variety of effects previously observed in behavioural experiments. We develop two information-theoretical measures of the distribution of usages of a morpheme or word, and use them to predict responses in three visual lexical decision datasets investigating inflectional morphology and polysemy. Our model offers a neurophysiological basis for the effects of
morpho-semantic neighbourhoods. These results demonstrate how distributed patterns of activation naturally result in the arisal of symbolic structures. We conclude by arguing that the modelling framework exemplified here, is
a powerful tool for integrating behavioural and neurophysiological results.Dr Fermin Moscoso del Prado MartinProf Aleksandar KosticDusica Filipovic-Djurdjevic2006-03-06Z2011-03-11T08:56:21Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/4754This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/47542006-03-06ZThe Missing Link between Morphemic Assemblies and Behavioral Responses:a Bayesian Information-Theoretical model of lexical processingWe present the Bayesian Information-Theoretical (BIT) model of lexical processing: A mathematical model illustrating a novel approach to the modelling of language processes. The model shows how a neurophysiological theory of lexical processing relying on Hebbian association and neural assemblies can directly account for a variety of eects previously observed in behavioral experiments. We develop two information-theoretical measures of the distribution of usages of a word or morpheme. These measures are calculated through unsupervised means from corpora. We show that our measures succesfully predict responses in three visual lexical decision datasets investigating the processing of in
ectional morphology in Serbian and English languages, and the eects of polysemy and homonymy in English. We discuss how our model provides a neurophysiological grounding for the facilitatory and inhibitory eects of dierent types of lexical neighborhoods. In addition, our results show how, under a model based on neural assemblies, distributed patterns of activation naturally result in the arisal of discrete symbol-like structures. Therefore, the BIT model oers a point of reconciliation in the debate between distributed connectionist and discrete localist models. Finally, we argue that the modelling framework exemplied by the BIT model, is a powerful tool for integrating the different levels of the description of the human language
processing system.Fermin Moscoso del Prado MartinKostic AleksandarFilipovic-Djurdjevic Dusica2006-11-07Z2011-03-11T08:56:42Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/5251This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/52512006-11-07ZSymbols are not uniquely humanModern semiotics is a branch of logics that formally defines symbol-based communication. In recent years, the semiotic classification of signs has been invoked to support the notion that symbols are uniquely human. Here we show that alarm-calls such as those used by African vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops), logically satisfy the semiotic definition of symbol. We also show that the acquisition of vocal symbols in vervet monkeys can be successfully simulated by a computer program based on minimal semiotic and neurobiological constraints. The simulations indicate that learning depends on the tutor-predator ratio, and that apprentice-generated auditory mistakes in vocal symbol interpretation have little effect on the learning rates of apprentices (up to 80% of mistakes are tolerated). In contrast, just 10% of apprentice-generated visual mistakes in predator identification will prevent any vocal symbol to be correctly associated with a predator call in a stable manner. Tutor unreliability was also deleterious to vocal symbol learning: a mere 5% of “lying” tutors were able to completely disrupt symbol learning, invariably leading to the acquisition of incorrect associations by apprentices. Our investigation corroborates the existence of vocal symbols in a non-human species, and indicates that symbolic competence emerges spontaneously from classical associative learning mechanisms when the conditioned stimuli are self-generated, arbitrary and socially efficacious. We propose that more exclusive properties of human language, such as syntax, may derive from the evolution of higher-order domains for neural association, more removed from both the sensory input and the motor output, able to support the gradual complexification of grammatical categories into syntax.Sidarta RibeiroAngelo LoulaIvan AraújoRicardo GudwinJoao Queiroz2008-11-23T09:22:59Z2011-03-11T08:57:14Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6267This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/62672008-11-23T09:22:59ZFrom deep dyslexia to agrammatic comprehension on silent readingWe report on a case of a French-speaking patient whose performance on reading aloud single words was characteristically deep dyslexic (in spite of preserved ability to identify letters), and whose comprehension on silent sentence reading was agrammatic and strikingly poorer than on oral reading. The first part of the study is mainly informative as regards (i) the relationship between letter identification, semantic paralexias and the ability to read nonwords, (ii) the differential character of silent and oral reading tasks, and (iii) the potential modality-dependent character of the deficits in comprehension encountered. In the second part of the study we examine the patient's sensitivity to verb-noun ambiguity and probe her skills in the comprehension of indexical structures by exploring her ability to cope with number agreement and temporal and prepositional relations. The results indicate the patient's sensitivity to certain dimensions of these linguistic categories, reveal a partly correct basis for certain incorrect responses, and, on the whole, favor a definition of the patient's disorders in terms of a deficit in integrating indexical information in language comprehension. More generally, the present study substantiates a microgenetic approach to neuropsychology, where the pathological behavior due to brain damage is described as an arrest of microgenesis at an early stage of development, so that patient's responses take the form of unfinished "products" which would normally undergo further development.Victor Rosenthalvictor.rosenthal@ehess.frMartine Dési2005-02-11Z2011-03-11T08:55:51Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/4091This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/40912005-02-11ZMappe, concetti e correlazioniIn questo saggio sono formulati alcuni principi sul funzionamento generale della mente.
Si ipotizza che i processi mentali siano da ripartire in processi preattenzionale ed attenzionali.
I processi attenzionali realizzati dalle aree anteriori della corteccia sono fondamentalmente quattro e cioè: selezione, atto motorio, “tenere insieme”, “scartare” e riferire. I processi preattenzionali strutturano le informazioni sensoriali e costruiscono mappe spaziali, temporali e spazio-temporali. L’agire attenzionale sulla strutturazione delle informazioni sensoriali e sulle mappe consente di costruire l’esperienza
Infine il duplice agire attenzionale (tenere insieme e riferire) consente il processo della correlazione attraverso il quale si costruiscono i pensieri
prof Salvatore Leonardi2006-04-08Z2011-03-11T08:56:23Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/4823This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/48232006-04-08ZTHE CHILD AND THE WORLD: How Children acquire LanguageHOW CHILDREN ACQUIRE LANGUAGE
Over the last few decades research into child language acquisition has been revolutionized by the use of ingenious new techniques which allow one to investigate what in fact infants (that is children not yet able to speak) can perceive when exposed to a stream of speech sound, the
discriminations they can make between different speech sounds, differentspeech sound sequences and different words. However on the central features of the mystery, the extraordinarily rapid acquisition of lexicon and complex syntactic structures, little solid progress has been made. The questions being researched are how infants acquire and produce the speech sounds (phonemes) of the community language; how infants find words in the stream of speech; and how they link words to perceived objects or action, that is, discover meanings. In a recent general review in Nature of children's language acquisition, Patricia Kuhl also asked why we do not learn new languages as easily at 50 as at 5 and why computers have not cracked the human linguistic code. The motor theory of language function and origin makes possible a plausible account of child language acquisition generally from which answers can be derived also to these further questions. Why computers so far have been unable to 'crack' the language problem becomes apparent in the light of the motor theory account: computers can have no natural relation between words and their meanings; they have no conceptual store to which the
network of words is linked nor do they have the innate aspects of language functioning - represented by function words; computers have no direct links between speech sounds and movement patterns and they do not have the instantly integrated neural patterning underlying thought - they necessarily operate serially and hierarchically. Adults find the acquisition of a new language much more difficult than children do because they are already neurally committed to the link between the words of their first language and the elements in their conceptual store. A second language being acquired by an adult is in direct
competition for neural space with the network structures established for the first language.
Robin Allott2004-06-05Z2011-03-11T08:55:36Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3657This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/36572004-06-05ZFrequency Value Grammar and Information TheoryI previously laid the groundwork for Frequency Value Grammar (FVG) in papers I submitted in the proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Cognitive Science (2003), Sydney Australia, and Corpus Linguistics Conference (2003), Lancaster, UK. FVG is a formal syntax theoretically based in large part on Information Theory principles. FVG relies on dynamic physical principles external to the corpus which shape and mould the corpus whereas generative grammar and other formal syntactic theories are based exclusively on patterns (fractals) found occurring within the well-formed portion of the corpus. However, FVG should not be confused with Probability Syntax, (PS), as described by Manning (2003). PS is a corpus based approach that will yield the probability distribution of possible syntax constructions over a fixed corpus. PS makes no distinction between well and ill formed sentence constructions and assumes everything found in the corpus is well formed. In contrast, FVG’s primary objective is to distinguish between well and ill formed sentence constructions and, in so doing, relies on corpus based parameters which determine sentence competency. In PS, a syntax of high probability will not necessarily yield a well formed sentence. However, in FVG, a syntax or sentence construction of high ‘frequency value’ will yield a well-formed sentence, at least, 95% of the time satisfying most empirical standards. Moreover, in FVG, a sentence construction of ‘high frequency value’ could very well be represented by an underlying syntactic construction of low probability as determined by PS. The characteristic ‘frequency values’ calculated in FVG are not measures of probability but rather are fundamentally determined values derived from exogenous principles which impact and determine corpus based parameters serving as an index of sentence competency. The theoretical framework of FVG has broad applications beyond that of formal syntax and NLP. In this paper, I will demonstrate how FVG can be used as a model for improving the upper bound calculation of entropy of written English. Generally speaking, when a function word precedes an open class word, the backward n-gram analysis will be homomorphic with the information source and will result in frequency values more representative of co-occurrences in the information source.
Asa M Stepak2003-11-14Z2011-03-11T08:55:24Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3271This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/32712003-11-14ZA neural blackboard architecture of sentence structureWe present a neural architecture for sentence representation. Sentences are represented in terms of word representations as constituents. A word representation consists of a neural assembly distributed over the brain. Sentence representation does not result from associations between neural word assemblies. Instead, word assemblies are embedded in a neural architecture, in which the structural (thematic) relations between words can be represented. Arbitrary thematic relations between arguments and verbs can be represented. Arguments can consist of nouns and phrases, as in sentences with relative clauses. A number of sentences can be stored simultaneously in this architecture. We simulate how probe questions about thematic relations can be answered. We discuss how differences in sentence complexity, such as the difference between subject-extracted versus object-extracted relative clauses and the difference between right-branching versus center-embedded structures, can be related to the underlying neural dynamics of the model. Finally, we illustrate how memory capacity for sentence representation can be related to the nature of reverberating neural activity, which is used to store information temporarily in this architecture. dr. Frank van der Veldedr. Marc de Kamps2004-02-13Z2011-03-11T08:55:28Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3435This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/34352004-02-13ZFrom Analogue to Digital VocalizationsSound is a medium used by humans to carry information.
The existence of this kind of
medium is a pre-requisite for language. It is organized
into a code, called speech, which
provides a repertoire of forms that is shared in each
language community. This code is necessary to support the linguistic
interactions that allow humans to communicate.
How then may a speech code be formed prior to the
existence of linguistic interactions?
Moreover, the human speech code is characterized by several
properties: speech is digital and compositional (vocalizations
are made of units re-used systematically in other syllables);
phoneme inventories have precise regularities as well as
great diversity in human languages; all the speakers of a
language community categorize sounds in the same manner,
but each language has its own system of categorization,
possibly very different from every other.
How can a speech code with these properties form?
These are the questions we will approach in the paper. We will
study them using the method of the artificial. We will
build a society of artificial agents, and study what mechanisms
may provide answers. This will not prove directly what mechanisms
were used for humans, but rather give ideas about what kind
of mechanism may have been used. This allows us to shape the
search space of possible answers, in particular by showing
what is sufficient and what is not necessary.
The mechanism we present is based on a low-level model of
sensory-motor interactions. We show that the integration of certain very
simple and non language-specific neural devices
allows a population of agents to build a speech code that
has the properties mentioned above. The originality is
that it pre-supposes neither a functional pressure for
communication, nor the ability to have coordinated
social interactions (they do not play language or imitation
games). It relies on the self-organizing properties of a generic
coupling between perception and production both
within agents, and on the interactions between agents.Dr. Pierre-Yves Oudeyer2005-02-22Z2011-03-11T08:55:51Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/4108This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/41082005-02-22ZFrom Holistic to Discrete Speech Sounds: The Blind Snow-Flake Maker HypothesisSound is a medium used by humans to carry information.
The existence of this kind of
medium is a pre-requisite for language. It is organized
into a code, called speech, which
provides a repertoire of forms that is shared in each
language community. This code is necessary to support the linguistic
interactions that allow humans to communicate.
How then may a speech code be formed prior to the
existence of linguistic interactions?
Moreover, the human speech code is characterized by several
properties: speech is digital and compositional (vocalizations
are made of units re-used systematically in other syllables);
phoneme inventories have precise regularities as well as
great diversity in human languages; all the speakers of a
language community categorize sounds in the same manner,
but each language has its own system of categorization,
possibly very different from every other.
How can a speech code with these properties form?
These are the questions we will approach in the paper. We will
study them using the method of the artificial. We will
build a society of artificial agents, and study what mechanisms
may provide answers. This will not prove directly what mechanisms
were used for humans, but rather give ideas about what kind
of mechanism may have been used. This allows us to shape the
search space of possible answers, in particular by showing
what is sufficient and what is not necessary.
The mechanism we present is based on a low-level model of
sensory-motor interactions. We show that the integration of certain very
simple and non language-specific neural devices
allows a population of agents to build a speech code that
has the properties mentioned above. The originality is
that it pre-supposes neither a functional pressure for
communication, nor the ability to have coordinated
social interactions (they do not play language or imitation
games). It relies on the self-organizing properties of a generic
coupling between perception and production both
within agents, and on the interactions between agents.Pierre-Yves Oudeyer2003-08-17Z2011-03-11T08:55:19Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3111This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/31112003-08-17ZIMITATION IN LANGUAGE AND SPEECH
Roles and functional base
Language is a skilled activity. In the development and acquisition of the skill, imitation may play different roles. Imitation in language may be related to and throw light on the role and functioning of imitation in other areas including imitation in robotics. What part does imitation play in the child’s acquisition of its mother language? What role did imitation play in the evolutionary origin and diversification of language? How much has imitation to do with the sources of the words we use and the ways those words are put together? These questions can be considered at different levels, the surface forms of language and speech, the underlying systematicies of language and speech, the problem of speech at the articulatory level and beyond or beneath that the problem of the functioning of imitation at the neural level. Imitation of any kind involves a relation between motor and perceptual functioning, between the motor system of the brain and the visual and other sensory systems. Language and speech also require interaction and coordination between motor activity and perceptual activity. The role and functioning of imitation in language and speech are subjects of study in many different disciplines, not only linguistics proper but also child development, neurology, evolutionary theory, social psychology. A central idea in this paper is a new emphasis on the bodily basis of language in relation to imitated speech and gesture, and more specifically on cerebral motor organisation as providing a possible new approach to the symbol-grounding problem. Robin Allott2003-04-15Z2011-03-11T08:55:15Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2874This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/28742003-04-15ZA Proposed Mathematical Theory Explaining Word Order Typology In this paper I attempt to lay the groundwork for an algorithm that measures sentence competency.
Heretofore, competency of sentences was determined by interviewing speakers of the language. The data compiled forms the basis for grammatical rules that establish the generative grammar of a language. However, the generative grammar, once established, does not filter out all incompetent sentences. Chomsky has noted that there are many sentences that are grammatical but do not satisfy the notion of competency and, similarly, many non-grammatical constructions that do.
I propose that generative grammar constructions as well as formal theory frameworks such as Transformational Grammar, Minimalist Theory, and Government and Binding do not represent the most irreducible component of a language that determines sentence competency. I propose a Mathematical Theory governing word order typology that explains not only the established generative grammar rules of a language but, also, lays the groundwork for understanding sentence competency in terms of irreducible components that has not been accounted for in previous formal theories. I have done so by relying on a mathematical analysis of word frequency relationships based upon large, representative corpuses that represents a more basic component of sentence construction overlooked by current text processing and artificial intelligence parsing systems and unaccounted for by the generative grammar rules of a language.
Asa Stepak2002-01-11Z2011-03-11T08:54:52Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2014This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/20142002-01-11ZComputer simulation: A new scientific approach to the study of language evolution(summary of the whole book)
This volume provides a comprehensive survey of computational models and methodologies used for studying the origin and evolution of language and communication. With contributions from the most influential figures in the field, Simulating the Evolution of Language presents and summarises current computational approaches to language evolution and highlights new lines of development. Among the main discussion points are:
· Analysis of emerging linguistic behaviours and structures
· Demonstration of the strict interaction and interdependence between language and other non-linguistic abilities
· Direct comparisons between simulation studies and empirical research
Essential reading for researchers and students in the areas of evolutionary and adaptive systems, language evolution, modelling and linguistics, it will also be of particular interest to computer scientists working on multi-agent systems, robotics and internet agents.
Angelo CangelosiDomenico Parisi2002-07-03Z2011-03-11T08:54:56Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2306This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/23062002-07-03ZConnectionist modelling of lexical segmentation and vocabulary acquisitionAdults typically hear sentences in their native language as a sequence of separate words and we might therefeore assume, that words in speech are physically separated in the way that they are perceived. However, when listening to an unfamiliar language we no longer experience sequences of discrete words, but rather hear a continuous stream of speech with boundaries separating individual sentences or utterances. Theories of how adult listeners segment the speech stream into words emphasise the role that knowledge of individual words plays in the segmentation of speech. However, since words can not be learnt until the speech stream can be segmented, it seems unlikely that infants will be able to use word recognition to segment connected speech. For this reason, researchers have proposed a variety of strategies and cues that infants could use to identify word boundaries without being able to recognise the words that these boundaries delimit. This chapter, describes some computational simulations proposing ways in which these cues and strategies for the acquisition of lexical segmentation can be integrated with the infants acquisition of the meanings of words. The simulations reported here describe simple computational mechanisms and knowledge sources that may support these different aspects of language acquisition.Matt H. Davis2002-09-01Z2011-03-11T08:54:59Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2438This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/24382002-09-01ZLanguage impairments in ALS/MND (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/Motor Neuron Disease)Paolo Bongioanni §, Giancarlo Buoiano C§, Marzia Magoni §
§ Neuroscience Dpt., Univ. Of Pisa, Italy
c Corresponding author:
Giancarlo Buoiano
Via del Morello 8 Bargecchia
I-55040 Corsanico (LU)
email: giancarlo@neurolinguistics.0catch.com
Language impairments in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/Motor Neuron Disease (ALS/MND)
Abstract
We review 6 papers on Motor Neuron Disease (MND) and language impairments. ALS/MND (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/MND) is an wide-ranging term used to cover several derangements of the motor neurons. ALS/MND brings to progressive degeneration of the motor neurons. The motor neurons control the muscles that consent us to move and act.
Until some years ago, ALS/MND was thought not to affect language and higher-order cognitive functions, but at present it is acknowledged that about 3-5% of patients affected by ALS/MND show cognitive impairments. Up to date, it is not possible to establish whether this subgroup is affected by ALS/MND and Fronto-Temporal Dementia (FTD) or FTD/Aphasia syndrome or whether FTD/aphasia syndrome can be, in some cases, a consequence of ALS/MND. Furthermore, it is not clear whether MND/FTD syndrome brings to language breakdown or whether MND/Aphasia can be considered a self-standing syndrome. Lexical category-specific impairments affect more often than not verbs, while nouns appear to be by some means preserved. The verbs deficit is remarkable because it can place a new light on the link between actions, verbal and cognitive imagery, and ideomotor praxis. Language impairments detected in ALS/MND point largely to frontal and frontostriatal damages.
Actually functional neuroimaging studies show reduced frontal activation. Alterations in Broca’s area, DorsoLateral PreFrontal Cortex (DLPFC) and fronto-striatal circuit have been all reported in ALS/MND: several functional studies link Broca’s area to syntactic processing and DLPFC to verbs production as well as language Short Term Memory (STM). A basic issue is the link between action and verbs and, as a result, between action syntax and speech syntax. This connection would be involved in the origin of language: it would be evolved passing from action to speech syntax. According to our point of view, verbs are pivotal in this system. In short, when actions are missing, verbs, ideomotor praxis and their neurocorrelates would deteriorate.
A longitudinal study on the effect of massive motor derangement on the verb degeneration is at present carried out by our research group, so to date this is a working hypothesis waiting for further evidence.
Keywords: ALS/MND, syntax, verbs, action, fronto-striatal circuit.
Dr. Paolo BongioanniDr. Giancarlo BuoianoDr. Marzia Magoni2003-02-12Z2011-03-11T08:55:10Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2767This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/27672003-02-12ZNeuromagnetic evidence that differences in verb and noun processing are modulated by the presence of a syntactic contextWe investigated the hypothesis that differences in the processing of verbs and nouns are modulated by the presence or absence of a syntactic context. When presented in isolation, no word category differences were observed over the left hemisphere. Verbs elicited slightly stronger magnetic fields than nouns over the right hemisphere. When presented in a minimal syntactic context, nouns elicited stronger fields than verbs over left posterior temporal regions (as indicated by root mean square signals and brain surface current density maps). Analysis of BSCD maps also indicated that verbs in context elicit stronger responses than nouns over left anterior regions.Christian J. FiebachBurkhard MaessAngela D. Friederici2002-08-31Z2011-03-11T08:54:59Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2439This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/24392002-08-31ZPerception of Real-World Without a LanguagePerception of Real-World Without a Language
Gian Carlo Buoiano C§, Mario Betti * and Paolo Bongioanni §
§Neuroscience Dpt., University of Pisa; *CESER Center of Mental Health (Lucca), Italy
C Corresponding author:
Giancarlo Buoiano
Via del Morello 8 Bargecchia
I-55040 Corsanico (LU)
Italy
e-mail: giancarlo@neurolinguistics.0catch.com
Abstract
The aim of this study is to show how real-world knowledge works without language.
Lelio is a 76-year-old man who has been profoundly deaf since birth like his mother and brothers. In the clinical history, Lelio’s father was reported as affected by an unspecified “cerebropathy”. Lelio’s two brothers had a relatively normal life. Lelio is illiterate like his mother and brothers: therefore Lelio grew up in a rather atypical relational context, developing a pathological affection for his mother and communicating through non-linguistically structured gestures. When his mother died Lelio was 31 and had some bursts of violence. In 1956 he was admitted in a psychiatric hospital with the diagnosis of “phrenastenia due to cerebropathy, microcephalia, deafness and mutism and probable epileptic crises”. During the 35-year hospitalization, there were no attempts to teach him “to read the lips” or use a structured sign language and, consequently, read and write. Since 1997 he has been living with his adoptive family. For these reasons, Lelio is a subject totally deprived of language. Apparently, he is unable to indicate a temporal sequence, but can understand simple gestures for “before” and “after”. Simple gestures of this kind are related to his needs and might constitute a primitive form of deictic communication not inserted in a linguistic network of relations: they could be a clue for the existence of an elementary form of temporal communication. Lelio can only produce signs linked to his immediate needs.
We administered him a Comprehensive Test of Non-verbal Intelligence (CTONI)1 and a color categorization test.
Lelio performed in two of three subtests closely to pre-school and pre-linguistic children who have not yet fully developed their frontal lobes. We found that categorical, contextual and abstract reasoning are highly impaired in the total absence of a structured language. However, a crucial point to clear up is whether his cognitive impairments are mainly due to a reduced brain function or primarily to the total lack of language. One hypothesis is that his deafness and reduced brain function have blocked the development of any form of language, thus severely worsening his cognitive abilities.
Since the present study has been carried out on a single case, it waits for further evidence.
For these reasons, Lelio is a subject totally deprived of language, at least in the conventional sense. At the moment he attends a group of Theatre Therapy. In this group he uses some very simple gestures to communicate with the others. We have video-recorded Lelio and analysed these signs. They are highly iconic and deictic: i.e., he has a sign for “cat” (two raised fingers on the ears) a sign for “umbrella” (the gesture to open an umbrella), a sign for “toilette” (a raised finger). He doesn’t seem capable of indicating a temporal sequence, but he seems to understand simple gestures for “before” and “after”. He does not produce any sign that is not linked to his immediate needs. The cognitive evolution of the subject leaves open an interpretation according to which the passage from the imagistic way of thinking to the alphanumeric way of reasoning is missing. This lack can be seen as the basis that reveal an archaic and primitive thinking, where the objects are always seen in their concrete and functional perspective and Lelio’s way of thinking could precisely be of this kind.
Dr. Giancarlo BuoianoDr. Mario BettiDr. Paolo Bongioanni2003-03-12Z2011-03-11T08:55:07Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2658This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/26582003-03-12ZPhonemic Coding Might Result From
Sensory-Motor Coupling DynamicsHuman sound systems are invariably phonemically coded. Furthermore,
phoneme inventories follow very particular tendancies. To explain
these phenomena, there existed so far three kinds of approaches :
``Chomskyan''/cognitive innatism, morpho-perceptual innatism
and the more recent approach of ``language as a complex cultural system
which adapts under the pressure of efficient communication''.
The two first approaches are clearly not satisfying, while
the third, even if much more convincing,
makes a lot of speculative assumptions and did not
really bring answers to the question of phonemic coding. We propose
here a new hypothesis based on a low-level model of
sensory-motor interactions. We show that certain very
simple and non language-specific neural devices
allow a population of agents to build signalling systems
without any functional pressure. Moreover, these systems
are phonemically coded. Using a realistic vowel articulatory
synthesizer, we show that the inventories of vowels
have striking similarities with human vowel systems.Pierre-Yves Oudeyer2001-08-24Z2011-03-11T08:54:46Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1764This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/17642001-08-24ZDyslexia - Talk of two theoriesRegardless of how intelligent they are, people with developmental dyslexia have difficulties in learning to read, a characteristic first described over a century ago. Dyslexia is now known to be a hereditary neurological disorder that affects a huge number of people about 5% of the global population but its underlying basis is still hotly debated. At two recent meetings, however, the reasons for the disagreement became clearer.
Franck Ramus2002-01-11Z2011-03-11T08:54:52Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2020This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/20202002-01-11ZHow nouns and verbs differentially affect the behavior of artificial organismsThis paper presents an Artificial Life and Neural Network (ALNN) model for the evolution of syntax. The simulation methodology provides a unifying approach for the study of the evolution of language and its interaction with other behavioral and neural factors. The model uses an object manipulation task to simulate the evolution of language based on a simple verb-noun rule. The analyses of results focus on the interaction between language and other non-linguistic abilities, and on the neural control of linguistic abilities. The model shows that the beneficial effects of language on non-linguistic behavior are explained by the emergence of distinct internal representation patterns for the processing of verbs and nouns.Angelo CangelosiDomenico Parisi2010-04-01T11:36:48Z2011-03-11T08:57:35Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6813This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/68132010-04-01T11:36:48ZNeuropragmatics: Extralinguistic communication after closed head injuryThis work is concerned with the decay of communicative abilities after head trauma. A protocol composed of 16 videotaped scenes was devised in order to investigate the comprehension of several types of communicative actions realized with extralinguistic means, like pointing or clapping. The protocol was administered to 30 closed head injured individuals. The results showed a decreasing performance from simple standard acts, to complex standard acts, deceits, and ironies. The subjects' performance was worse with the scenes reproducing failing, rather than successful, communicative actions. The results are compared with those we previously obtained with a linguistic protocol. A theory of the cognitive processes underlying intentional communication is outlined and used to explain the results.Bruno G. BaraIlaria CuticaMaurizio Tirassamaurizio.tirassa@unito.it2002-04-12Z2011-03-11T08:54:55Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2177This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/21772002-04-12ZERP analysis of cognitive sequencing : a left-anterior negativity related to structural transformation processingA major objective of cognitive neuroscience is to identify those neurocomputational processes that may be shared by multiple cognitive functions vs those that are highly specifc. This problem of identifying general vs specialized functions is of particular interest in the domain of language processing. Within this domain, event related brain potential (ERP) studies have demonstrated a left anterior negativity (LAN) in a range 300 to 700 ms, associated with syntactic processing, often linked to grammatical function words. These words have little or no
semantic content, but rather play a role in encoding syntactic structure required for parsing. In the current study we test the hypothesis that the LAN reflects the operation of a more general sequence processing capability in which special symbols encode structural information that, when combined with past elements in the sequence, allows the prediction of successor elements. We recorded ERPs during a non-linguistic sequencing task that required subjects (nà10) to process special symbols possessing the functional property defined above. When compared to ERPs in a control condition, function symbol processing elicits a left anterior negative shift between with temporal and spatial characteristics quite similar to the LAN described during function word processing in language, supporting
our hypothesis. These results are discussed in the
context of related studies of syntactic and cognitive sequence processing. Michel HoenPeter-Ford Dominey2000-06-14Z2011-03-11T08:53:42Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/149This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1492000-06-14ZTHE MIND AND BRAIN SCHOLAR AS A HITCH-HIKER IN POST-GUTENBERG GALAXY: PUBLISHING AT 2000 AND BEYONDElectronic journal (e-journal) publishing has started to change the ways we think about publish-ing. However, many scholars and scientists in the mind and brain sciences are still ignorant of the new possibilities and on-going debates. This paper will provide a summary of the issues in-volved, give an update of the current discussion, and supply practical information on issues re-lated to e- journal publishing and self-archiving relevant for the mind and brain sciences. Issues such as differences between traditional and e-journal publishing, open archive initiatives, world-wide conventions, quality control, costs involved in e-journal publishing, and copyright questions will be addressed. Practical hints on how to self-archive, how to submit to the e-journal Psycolo-quy, how to create an open research archive, and where to find information relevant to e-publishing will be supplied.Brigitte StemmerMarianne CorreYves Joanette2000-05-13Z2011-03-11T08:53:42Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/147This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1472000-05-13ZThe study of the regenesis of mind in the 21st centuryThe enigma of consciousness and the brain-mind relationship will - most likely - be unveiled in the 21st century through the new technologies developed at the end of the 20th century and new technologies yet to come. The new technologies will be used to tackle the problem from evolu-tionary, developmental, normal and pathological brain functioning. A major contribution, how-ever, will surface when investigating a particular perspective of pathological brain functioning - a perspective that has not received any attention in the past: the investigation of the re-emergence of mind out of prolonged coma and coma like states.Paul Walter SchönleBrigitte Stemmer2000-05-13Z2011-03-11T08:53:42Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/146This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1462000-05-13ZNeuropragmatics in the 21st centuryOne of the great challenges of the new millennium is the continuing search of how the mind works. Although a relatively young field, the study of neuropragmatics can greatly contribute to this search by its interdisciplinary nature, the possibility to be applied to different research meth-ods and by the opportunity to study its nature by taking vastly different perspectives.Brigitte StemmerPaul Walter Schönle2000-09-01Z2011-03-11T08:54:23Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/949This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/9492000-09-01ZLanguage comprehension as guided experienceLanguage comprehension is best viewed as guided experience. The linguistic input provides cues to the human brain as to how to construct experiential simulations of the state of affairs it denotes. We show that this view of language comprehension is consistent with a range of extant evidence in a variety of fields,
ranging from historical linguistics to cognitive neuroscience. We furthermore discuss new evidence that directly supports the experience-based view. We argue that the prevailing amodal view of language comprehension is unable to coherently account for this
evidence.
Rolf ZwaanBarbara KaupRobert StanfieldCarol Madden2010-04-01T11:36:55Z2011-03-11T08:57:35Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6812This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/68122010-04-01T11:36:55ZNeuropragmatics: Brain and communicationThere is no abstract for this paper.Bruno G. BaraMaurizio Tirassamaurizio.tirassa@unito.it2003-02-12Z2011-03-11T08:55:09Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2766This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/27662003-02-12ZWh-movement vs. scrambling: The brain makes a difference(no abstract)Angela D. FriedericiMatthias SchlesewskyChristian J. Fiebach2000-05-13Z2011-03-11T08:53:42Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/145This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1452000-05-13ZDiscourse studies in neurologically impaired populations: A quest for actionOrganism and environment are in a state of constant interaction, and discourse is vie-wed as one form of manifestation of this interaction. Through the study of discourse in-sights can be gained into those components that bring about mental events. Verbal structure, communication of beliefs and action/interaction are highly interactive dimensi-ons of discourse. Taking this perspective as a framework, the findings of discourse stu-dies with particular emphasis on right-hemisphere brain damaged individuals are discussed. Neurolinguistic studies of discourse can be divided into four categories: (1) studies that focus primarily at providing a detailed description of the structural and inter-actional abilities of brain-damaged individuals, (2) studies that are mainly concerned with investigating the processing aspects of discourse, (3) studies that investigate the influ-ence of cognitive systems such as attention or memory on discourse processing, and (4) studies that try to relate discourse processing mechanisms to underlying biological sub-strates or neurophysiological mechanisms. A quest is made for future research to base discourse studies on well-defined processing theories, to include different processing components and levels, and to systematically investigate the impact of facets of cogniti-ve systems on such processing. Established methodological approaches should be complemented by electrophysiological procedures (such as the event related potentials technique), or functional imaging techniques (such as fMRI) to tackle relationships bet-ween discourse processing mechanisms, cognitive systems and underlying biological mechanisms. Consideration of the influence of biochemical processes (such as asym-metries of neurotransmitters, endocrine functions or influence of pharmacological agents) on component processes may add to our insights.Brigitte Stemmer2010-04-01T11:37:03Z2011-03-11T08:57:35Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6811This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/68112010-04-01T11:37:03ZCommunicative competence and the architecture of the mind/brainCognitive pragmatics is concerned with the mental processes involved in intentional communication. I discuss a few issues that may help clarify the relationship between this area and the broader cognitive science and the contribution that they give, or might give, to each other. Rather than dwelling on the many technicalities of the various theories of communication that have been advanced, I focus on the different conceptions of the nature and the architecture of the mind/brain that underlie them. My aims are, first, to introduce and defend mentalist views of communication in general; second, to defend one such view, namely that communication is a cognitive competence, that is, a faculty, and the underlying idea that the architecture of the mind/brain is domain-specific; and, third, to review the (scarce) neuropsychological evidence that bears on these issues.Maurizio Tirassamaurizio.tirassa@unito.it1999-12-15Z2011-03-11T08:53:41Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/125This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1251999-12-15ZIntroductionThe introduction to the special issue briefly discusses the origins and development of the word "pragmatics", pragmatic theory and its application to neurolinguistics. The special issue covers a total of 11 articles investigating pragmatic and neuropragmatic issues from different theoretical, experimental and clinical perspectives.Brigitte Stemmer1999-12-15Z2011-03-11T08:53:41Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/126This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1261999-12-15ZAn On-Line Interview with Noam Chomsky: On the Nature of Pragmatics and Related IssuesThe authors and editor of the special issue of Brain and Language: Pragmatics: Theoretical and Clinical Issues as well as the editor of Brain and Language framed some questions which were sent to and readily discussed by Noam Chomsky via e-mail.Brigitte Stemmer1998-10-15Z2011-03-11T08:54:15Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/743This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/7431998-10-15ZA limit on behavioral plasticity in speech perception.It is well attested that we perceive speech through the filter of our native language: a classic example is that of Japanese listeners who cannot discriminate between the American /l/ and /r/ and identify both as their own /r/ phoneme (Goto, 1971). Studies in the laboratory have shown, however, that perception of non-native speech sounds can be learned through training (Lively, Pisoni, Yamada, & Tohkura, 1994). This is consistent with neurophysiological evidence showing considerable experience-dependent plasticity in the brain at the first levels of sensory processing (Edeline & Weinberger, 1993; Kraus, et al., 1995; Merzenich & Sameshima, 1993; Weinberger, 1993). Outside of the laboratory, however, the situation seems to differ: we here report a study involving Spanish-Catalan bilingual subjects who have had the best opportunities to learn a new contrast but did not do it. Our study demonstrates a striking lack of behavioral plasticity: early and extensive exposure to a second language is not sufficient to attain the ultimate phonological competence of native speakers.C. PallierL. BoschN. Sebastian-Gallés1999-10-27Z2011-03-11T08:53:41Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/122This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1221999-10-27ZBicoherence of intracranial EEG in sleep, wakefulness and seizuresThe hypothesis that the intracranial EEG has local structure and short-term non-stationarity is tested with a little-studied measure of nonlinear phase coupling, the bicoherence in human subdural and deep temporal lobe probe data from 11 subjects during sleeping, waking and seizure states. This measure of cooperativity estimates the proportion of energy in every possible pair of frequency components, F1, F2 (from 1-50 Hz in this study), that satisfies the definition of quadratic phase coupling (phase of component at F3 , which is F1+F2, equals phase of F1 + phase of F2). Derived from the bispectrum, which segregates the nonGaussian energy, auto-bicoherence uses the frequency components in one channel; cross-bicoherence uses one channel for F1 and F2 and another for F3. These higher order spectra are used in physical systems for detection of episodes of nonlinearity and transients, for pattern recognition and robust classification, relatively immune to Gaussian components and low signal to noise ratios. Bicoherence is found not to be a fixed character of the EEG but quite local and unstable, in agreement with the hypothesis. Bicoherence can be quite different in adjacent segments as brief as 1.6 s as well as adjacent intracranial electrodes as close as 6.5 mm, even when the EEG looks similar. It can rise or fall steeply within millimeters. It is virtually absent in many analysis epochs of 17s duration. Other epochs show significant bicoherence with diverse form and distribution over the bifrequency plane. Isolated peaks, periodic peaks or rounded mountain ranges are either widely scattered or confined to one or a few parts of the plane. Bicoherence is generally an invisible feature: one cannot usually recognize the responsible form of nonlinearity or any obvious correlate in the raw EEG. During stage II/III sleep overall mean bicoherence is generally higher than in the waking state. During seizures the diverse EEG patterns average a significant elevation in bicoherence but have a wide variance. Maximum bispectrum, maximum power spectrum, maximum and mean bicoherence, skewness and asymmetry all vary independently of each other. Cross-bicoherence is often intermediate between the two auto-bicoherence spectra but commonly resembles one of the two. Of the known factors that contribute to bicoherence, transient as distinct from ongoing wave forms can be more important in our data sets. This measure of nonlinear higher moments is very sensitive to weak quadratic phase coupling,; this can come from several kinds of waveforms. New methods are needed to evaluate their respective contributions. Utility of this descriptor cannot be claimed before more carefully defined and repeatable brain states are studied.T.H. BullockJ.Z. AchimowiczR.B. DuckrowS.S. SpencerV.J. Iragui-Madoz2002-02-21Z2011-03-11T08:54:53Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2084This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/20842002-02-21ZEvent-related potentials elicited by spoken relative clausesSentence-length event-related potential (ERP) waveforms were obtained from 23 scalp sites as 24 subjects listened to normally spoken sentences of various syntactic structures. The critical materials consisted of 36 sentences each containing one of 2 types of relative clauses that differ in processing difficulty, namely Subject Object (SO) and Subject Subject (SS) relative clauses. Sentence-length ERPs showed several differences in the slow scalp potentials elicited by SO and SS sentences that were similar in their temporal dynamics to those elicited by the same stimuli in a word-by-word reading experiment, although the effects in the two modalities have non identical distributions. Just as for written sentences, there was a large, fronto-central negativity beginning at the linguistically defined "gap" in the SO sentences; this effect was largest for listeners with above-median comprehension rates, and is hypothesized to index changes in on-line processing demands during comprehension.Horst M. MuellerJonathan W. KingMarta Kutas2010-04-01T11:37:11Z2011-03-11T08:57:35Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6810This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/68102010-04-01T11:37:11ZNeuropragmatics: Neuropsychological constraints on formal theories of dialogueWe are interested in the validation of a cognitive theory of human communication, grounded in a speech acts perspective. The theory we refer to is outlined, and a number of predictions are drawn from it. We report a series of protocols administered to 13 brain-injured subjects and to a comparable control group. The tasks included direct and indirect speech acts, irony, deceits, failures of communication, and theory of mind inferences. All the predicted trends of difficulty are consistently verified; in particular, difficulty increases from direct/indirect speech acts to irony, from irony to deceits, and from deceits to failure recovery. This trend symmetrically shows both in the successful situation and in the failure situation. Further, failure situations prove more difficult to handle than the relevant successful situation. In sharp contrast with previous literature, there is no difference between the subjects' comprehension of direct and indirect speech acts. The results are discussed in the light of our theoretical approach.Bruno G. BaraMaurizio Tirassamaurizio.tirassa@unito.itMarina Zettin1999-09-29Z2011-03-11T08:53:41Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/119This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1191999-09-29ZTACIT INTEGRATION AND REFERENTIAL STRUCTURE IN THE LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION OF APHASICS AND NORMALSAphasics, brain damaged patients with no language deficit, neurologically intact elderly subjects and university undergraduates matched pictures to sentences having compelling tacit implications (e.g. the sentence The fox grabs the hen strongly invites one to assume that the fox will eat the hen). All groups made, for the same sentences, qualitatively similar referential errors consisting in choosing a tacit implication picture. Two auxiliary experiments using the same target sentences in other interpretive situations permitted ruling out the possibility that these errors were due to the putative intrinsic semantic properties of the sentences, showing that the sentences which were most liable to elicit integrative error varied from task to task. These results are interpreted within the conceptual framework which posits that reliable directions for interpretation are couched by the speaker in the very structure of his utterances (the utterance's referential structure) providing the hearer with means to restructure the relevant personal knowledge integrated into the interpretive process in accordance with the speaker's communicative intent. The determination of the referential structure (RSD) of utterances thus seems critical to their correct or, more precisely, conventional interpretation, and, along with the tacit integration of relevant sources of personal knowledge, constitutes the principal cognitive device enabling us to understand each other. But this device appears to be easily corruptible. It is suggested that many errors made by aphasics in language interpretation are due to a failure to follow all referential instructions, but that qualitatively similar failures also occur in normal subjects, though to a lesser degree. Language interpretation is a fallible process and aphasic errors provide remarkable clues for the understanding of its subtle referential mechanisms.Victor RosenthalPatrizia Bisiacchi1998-04-02Z2011-03-11T08:53:37Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/13This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/131998-04-02ZWhat's in a name? Electrophysiological differences between spoken nouns, proper nouns and one's own nameTo investigate the neural processing of different word categories, we recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) from 32 individuals listening to sentences, beginning either with a proper name (first name), the subject's own name, or a common noun. Names and nouns both elicited ERP waveforms with the same early componentry, but the N1 and P2 components were larger for proper names than common nouns. The ERPs to the subject's own name also had a large N1/P2 plus a prominent negativity at parieto-central site peaking around 400 ms and a late positivity between 500-800 ms over left lateral-frontal sites. These findings are consistent with differential processing of people's first names within the category of nouns.H.M. MuellerM. Kutas2002-02-21Z2011-03-11T08:54:53Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2100This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/21002002-02-21ZWhat's in a name? Electrophysiological differences between spoken nouns, proper nouns and one's own nameTo investigate the neural processing of different word categories, we recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) from 32 individuals listening to sentences, beginning either with a proper name (first name), the subject's own name, or a common noun. Names and nouns both elicited ERP waveforms with the same early componentry, but the N1 and P2 components were larger for proper names than common nouns. The ERPs to the subject's own name also had a large N1/P2 plus a prominent negativity at parieto-central site peaking around 400 ms and a late positivity between 500-800 ms over left lateral-frontal sites. These findings are consistent with differential processing of people's first names within the category of nouns.Horst M. MuellerMarta Kutas1998-04-25Z2011-03-11T08:53:37Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/23This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/231998-04-25ZIslands in the Mind: Dynamic Subdivisions of Association Cortex and the Emergence of a Darwin MachineTo model cognitive processing, language construction, and "intelligence" at a neurophysiological level using darwinian evolutionary mechanisms requires more than a survival-of-the-fittest principle. Darwinism is all about the copying success of patterns (typically DNA strings); here I outline a seconds-to-minutes competition between different spatiotemporal firing patterns in a multifunctional cortical workspace. The proposed mechanism for recall from a passive distributed memory into an active working memory is analogous to genotypes and phenotypes. The ephemeral working patterns copy themselves in the manner of wallpaper pattern repeats; they occupy flexible islands in the workspace (useful for multi-tasking and analogical reasoning) that compete with one another for the limited workspace, with a widespread pattern signaling object identification or readiness to act. Pattern evolution is accelerated by cortical equivalents of the roles played by climate change and lowered sea level in island biogeography. Chimeric islands containing a pastiche of patterns are judged against episodic memories in a way that bears some correspondence to the known organization of human language cortex.William H. Calvin1998-04-25Z2011-03-11T08:53:37Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/21This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/211998-04-25ZA Stone's Throw and its Launch Window: Timing Precision and its Implications for Language and Hominid BrainsDid bigger brains for more precise throwing lead to language, much as feathers for insulation may have set the stage for bird flight? Throwing rocks even at stationary prey requires great precision in the timing of rock release from an overarm throw, with the "launch window" narrowing eight-fold when the throwing distance is doubled from a beginner's throw. Paralleled timing neurons can overcome the usual neural noise limitations via the law of large numbers, suggesting that enhanced throwing skill could have produced a strong selection pressure for any evolutionary trends that provided additional timing neurons. This enhanced timing circuitry may have developed secondary uses for language reception and production.William H. Calvin1998-03-10Z2011-03-11T08:54:07Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/612This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6121998-03-10ZLinguisitic and Other Psychological Aspects of Paroxysmal AphasiaA case of paroxysmal aphasia is reported. Aphasic spells occurred, in this patient, without modification in consciousness and without involvement of behaviors others than those related to oral and written speech and language. Longer spells successively recapitulated the clinical pictures of global, Wernicke's. conduction, and amnestic aphasia. Besides aphasiological evaluations, neurological, psychometrical, electroencephalographical, and CT-scan documents were obtained. The discussion bears on four main points : the linguistic characteristics of paroxysmal aphasia as compared to those of aphasias of other etiologies; Pierre Marie's oneness doctrine of aphasia; the mutual relationships of language and thought (in aphasia); the affective experience lived by one with severe aphasia, with special reference to the notion of anosognosia.Andre Roch LecoursJoanette Yves