1. The Biology and Origins of Language Part 1

2. Body Size, Brains and Stuff
Smaller Body Size
Short lifespan
R selected
Brain functions integrated
Reliance on instinct
Stimulus bound learning
Rigid response to environment
Less adaptable to change
Short neurons lead to short reaction time
Larger Body Size
Long lifespan (for learning)
K selected
Brain functions specialized
Reliance on learning
Transferable learning
Flexible response to environment
More adaptable to change
Long neurons lead to delayed reaction time

3. r and K selection “K” - Chimps care for offspring for 5-7 years
“r” - Turtles lay & abandon many eggs

4. Animal vs. Human Brains
Animals have much less cortex (gray matter) and much shorter nerve fibers than humans.
The Cortex is where higher brain functions like thinking take place.
The non-cortical brain is involved in reflexes and emotional reactions.

5. Brain to Body Ratio

6. Brain Specialization
Of all animals, only humans and apes have been found to have lateralized brains

7. Language Parts of the Brain
Wernicke’s Area
Receives speech from primary auditory area and decodes speech
Broca’s Area
develops speech and sends it to the motor cortex
Geschwind’s Territory
at the junction of the auditory, visual, and somatosensory cortexes
neurons in this lobule can process different kinds of stimuli (auditory, visual, sensorimotor, etc.) simultaneously.
doesn’t fully develop until about five years of age
classifying, labeling, thinking abstractly, forming concepts.
Arcuate fasiculus
Bundle of neurological connections between three areas

8. Left Cortex Language Areas

9. Inferior parietal lobule AKA Geschwind’s Territory

11. Aphasia
Two forms of Aphasia:
GRAMMAR PROBLEMS
Damage to Broca’s Area results in the inability to complete grammatically complete sentences.
PROBLEMS IN MEANING
Damage to Wernieke’s Area results in speech that has a natural-sounding rhythm and normal grammatical patterns but is meaningless.
DEFINITION
is a loss of the ability to produce and/or comprehend language

12. How do we know what parts of the Human Brain Control Language?
Videos on Damage to Human Brains
Physical Injury
Stroke Patients

13. Language Activity Brain Scans

14. Genes and Language Two links between specific genes and language:
1. The FoxP2 Gene
2. ASPM and Microcephalin Genes

15. FoxP2
Discovered through one family(the “KE” family), half of whom had a defect in that gene and could not speak
The KE family was of Pakistani origin living in Britain
In 37 members in 4 generations, 15 suffered specific language impairment

16. FoxP2
Patterns of inheritance indicated standard dominant/recessive inheritance, not sex chromosome inheritance.
Fox P2n is Located on a short segment of chromosome 7
each of us inherits two copies of the FOXP2 gene: one from our mother, and one from our father
both copies must be intact for our language functions to be normal.

17. FoxP2
responsible for producing a protein called a transcription factor.
transcription factors bind to DNA molecules to turn other genes off and on.
Broca’s area and the caudate nuclei (regulates motor control) are smaller than in normal people
trouble in identifying some elementary sounds of language,
trouble in understanding sentences and using grammar

18. ASPM and Microcephalin
These genes are associated with increased brain size
Mutations at these sites cause primary microcephaly, a developmental defect with severe reduction in the cerebral cortex—(planning, abstract reasoning and other higher brain functions).
Microcephalin was more involved in evolution of primate brain size (prosimians to monkeys)
ASPM more involved in late evolutionary step leading to humans.

19. ASPM and Microcephalin
Both genes are thought to affect brain development.
Older versions of these genes are found in tonal language populations. (Half of the world’s language are tonal including many in Asia, Southeast Asia and Sub Saharan Africa).
New versions of these genes are found in non-tonal language populations.