CHRIST AUTONOMOUS COLLEGE IRINJALAKUDA

BIO PSYCHOLOGY

EVOLUTION AND PHYSIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE

Submitted by, Submitted to,

Unnimaya M S Ms. Hasmina Fathima
1st M sc Clinical Psychology Assistant professor
Dept. of psychology
Language is a form of communication. But not all forms of communication are considered
language. Human language is said to have the characteristic of productivity. Productivity
refers to the ability to produce new combinations of communication elements and to produce
new communication symbols. The possibility of language in non-human animals has been
investigated.
Nonhuman Precursors of Language
While nonhuman animals communicate through visual, auditory, tactile, or chemical
(pheromonal) displays, those signals don’t have much flexibility compared to human
language, with its productivity and ability to improvise new combinations of signals to
represent new ideas.
Common chimpanzees

 More success teaching chimps sign language or other visual systems than teaching them
to speak
-eg. learning to press keys with symbols to type messages on a computer
 Not everything that can translate as a series of words is really language.
 The chimps’ use of symbols had features that raised doubts about calling it language

1. the chimps seldom used symbols in new, original combinations- their symbol use was
short on productivity
2. the chimps used their symbols mainly to request, seldom to describe

 chimps showed indications of at least moderate understanding

 Washoe, trained in sign language, usually answered who questions with names, what
questions with objects, where questions with places, though sometime wrong answers
Bonobos
Bonobos’ social order resembles humans’ in several regards. Males and females form strong,
sometimes lasting, personal attachments. They often copulate face to face. The female is
sexually responsive on almost any day and not just during her fertile period. The males
contribute significantly to infant care. Adults often share food. They stand comfortably on
their hind legs. In short, they resemble humans more than other primates do
In the mid-1980s, Sue Savage Rumbaugh, Duane Rumbaugh, and their associates tried to
teach a female bonobo named Matata to press symbols that lit when touched.
-each symbol represents a word
-Matata made little progress, infant son Kanzi learned by watching her
-Kanzi excelled using symbol board
-later noted he understood a fair amount of spoken language. For example, whenever anyone
said the word “light,” Kanzi would flip the light switch.
-at 5 1/2, understood about 150 English words and could respond to unfamiliar spoken
commands as “Throw your ball in the river” and “Go to the refrigerator and get out a tomato”
-Kanzi and sister show language comprehension comparable to 2-2 1/2 year old child
-understand more than they can produce
-use symbols to name and describe objects even when not requesting them
-request items that they do not see
-occasionally use symbols to describe past events
-frequently make original, creative requests
1. perhaps bonobos have more language potential than other common chimps
2. or excel because started training when very young
3. or due to method of training
-learning be observation and imitation might promote better understanding than formal
training methods
Nonprimates
 Spectacular results have been reported for Alex, an African gray parrot.
 Irene Pepperberg was the first to argue that parrots can use sounds meaningfully.
 She kept Alex in a stimulating environment and taught him by saying a word many times
and offering rewards if Alex approximated the same sound.
 Pepperberg generally used toys. For example, if Alex said “paper,” “wood,” or “key,” she
would give him what he asked for. In no case did she reward him with food for saying
“paper” or “wood.”
 gradually learned to give spoken answers to spoken questions.
 Relying on language is not always helpful. Pepperberg put Alex and three other gray
parrots on perches; each had a chain of large plastic links from the perch to an almond on
the bottom. The parrots untrained in language used their claws to pull up the chain until
they reached the almond. Alex asked for an almond rather than trying to get it himself.
When she declined to bring it to them, they gave up
 what is learned from studies of non human language abilities?
-practical level: gain insights into how best to teach language to those who do not learn it
easily (brain damage or autism)
-theoretical level: studies indicate that human language evolved from precursors present
in other species
also point out ambiguity- can't decide if chimps or parrots have language unless we define
language more precisely
How Did Humans Evolve Language?
most theories in 2 categories
1. we evolved language as a by-product of overall brain development
2. we evolved it as a brain specialization
1. language as a product of overall intelligence
simplest view- humans evolved big brains and therefore great intelligence, and language
developed as an accidental by-product of intelligence
PROBLEMS:
1. People with Normal Intelligence but Impaired Language
-identified dominant gene causing people to have problems in pronunciation and many other
aspects of language, also trouble with simple grammatical rules- when they speak, brain
shows activity in posterior regions instead of frontal cortex
They have trouble with even simple grammatical rules
Despite the language difficulties, these people behave normally and intelligently in most
regards. Evidently, language requires more than just a large brain and overall intelligence.
2. People with Mental Retardation but Relatively Spared Language
Williams syndrome
 Despite mental retardation in most regards, many people with Williams syndrome
speak grammatically and fluently
 The cause is deletion of several genes from chromosome 7, leading to decreased gray
matter, especially in areas relating to visual processing
 Affected people are poor at tasks related to numbers, visual spatial skills, and spatial
perception
 many people with Williams syndrome perform well, or at least close to normal, in
certain regards. One is music, such as the ability to clap a complex rhythm and
memorize song
 Another is friendliness and the ability to interpret facial expressions, such as relaxed
or worried, serious or playful, flirtatious or uninterested
 Their fascination with faces probably relates to the fact that their fusiform cortex—an
area sensitive to is about twice as large as normal
 However, many also have bouts of severe anxiety or quarrelsome irritability that
interfere with social relationships
 language abilities generally below average for their age, some individuals have
remarkably good language, considering their impairments in other regards
 People with Williams syndrome do not handle language perfectly
 Their grammar is awkward, like that of someone who learned a second language late
in life
 They use fancy words when a common word would work better, such as “I have to
evacuate the glass” instead of “empty” or “pour out” the glass
Still, observations of Williams syndrome indicate that language is not simply a byproduct of
overall intelligence
Language as a Specialization
 language evolved as a specialized brain mechanism
 Chomsky and Pinker- proposed humans have a language acquisition device: a built in
mechanism for acquiring language
 Most children develop language so quickly and easily that it seems they must have
been biologically “prepared” for this learning. Also, deaf children quickly learn sign
 language, and if no one teaches them a sign language, they invent one of their own
and teach it to one another
 Researchers have begun to explore the genetic basis of this preparation for language.
 FOXP2 gene produces a multitude of effects, partly on brain development, but also on
structures of the jaw and throat that are important for speech.
 Researchers did alter the FOXP2 gene in mice. The effects included changes in
vocalizations and increased dendritic branching and synaptic plasticity in the basal
ganglia.
 language relates to the long period of dependency in childhood. Social interactions
among people, including those between parents and children, favored the evolution of
language, and overall intelligence may be a by product of language development more
than language is a by product of intelligence
A Sensitive Period for Language Learning
Experiment : do people learn 2nd language best if they start young?
results: most adults are better than children at memorizing the vocabulary of a 2nd language,
but children have advantage on learning the pronunciation and mastering the grammar
There is no sharp cutoff for learning a second language; starting at age 2 is better than 4, 4 is
better than 6, and 13 is better than 16. However, people who start learning a second language
beyond age 12 or so almost never reach the level of a true native speaker.
Also, learning a second language from the start is very different from learning one later.
The left hemisphere is dominant for language. People who grow up in a bilingual home,
speaking two languages from the start, are an exception. In most cases, they show substantial
bilateral activity during speech, for both languages.
Also, the language areas of their temporal and frontal cortex grow thicker than average.
People who learn a second language after age 6 or so activate just the left hemisphere for
both languages.
Many people guess that a bilingual person might rely on the left hemisphere for one language
and the right hemisphere for the other. That guess is wrong, as the second language depends
on the same brain areas as the first
experiment: study people who were not exposed to any language during early childhood
-deaf children who were unable to learn spoken language and not given change to learn sign
language while young
-earlier child learns sign language, better they will become
-child who learns English early can learn sign language later
-deaf child who learns sign language early can learn English later
-someone who learns no language while young is permanently impaired at learning language
*supports idea of sensitive period
Brain Damage and Language
Another way to study specializations for language is to examine the role of various brain
areas. Much of our knowledge has come from studies of people with brain damage.
Broca’s Aphasia (Nonfluent Aphasia)
Damage to a region of the inferior left frontal lobe (Broca’s area) disrupts the ability to speak,
causing Broca’s aphasia.
Speaking activates much of the brain, mostly in the left hemisphere, and not just Broca’s area
(Wallesch, Henriksen, Kornhuber, & Paulson, 1985). Damage limited to Broca’s area
produces only minor or brief language impairment. Serious deficits result from extensive
damage that extends into other areas as well. Most cases result from a stroke, but similar
deficits result from diseases causing gradual atrophy to Broca’s area and surrounding areas.
When people with brain damage suffer impaired language production, we call it Broca’s
aphasia, or nonfluent aphasia, regardless of the exact location of damage. People with
Broca’s aphasia also have comprehension deficits when the meaning of a sentence depends
on prepositions, word endings, or unusual word order—in short, when the sentence structure
is complicated.
Difficulty in Language Production
 People with Broca’s aphasia are slow and awkward with all forms of expression,
including speaking, writing, and gesturing, as well as sign language for the deaf. So
Broca’s aphasia relates to language, not just the vocal muscles.
 omit most pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, auxiliary (helping) verbs, quantifiers,
and tense and number endings
 use more word endings if they speak German, Italian, or other languages in which
word endings are more critical than they are in English
 They find it difficult to repeat a phrase such as “No ifs, ands, or buts,” although they
can successfully repeat, “The general commands the army.”
 People with broca’s aphasia have suffered damage to a “grammar area” in the brain
and when speaking is a struggle, people leave out the weakest elements. Many people
who are in great pain speak as if they have Broca’s aphasia. That’s why people with
Broca’s aphasia omit the grammatical words and endings.
Problems in Comprehending Grammatical Words and Devices
 People with Broca’s aphasia have trouble understanding the same kinds of words that
they omit when speaking, such as prepositions and conjunctions
 They often misunderstand sentences with complex grammar
 people with Broca’s aphasia have not totally lost their knowledge of grammar
Broca’s Area One Step at a Time
 physicians expose someone’s brain to explore options for treating severe epilepsy.
Although the scalp is anesthetized, the brain is awake.
 In a few cases, researchers implanted electrodes to record activity in Broca’s area
while the person listened to sentences or processed them in other ways.
 The cells that responded first made the same response regardless of what, if anything,
the person was supposed to do with the word. Evidently these cells had something to
do with understanding the word.
  A second group of cells responded a bit later, and responded more strongly if the
instruction was to change the tense (walk → walked) or number (rock → rocks).
 A third group, with the latest response, was active in preparation for saying the
word. Those cells responded most strongly to long words that required more effort to
speak
 These results suggest that cells in Broca’s area go through at least three stages in
controlling speech.
Wernicke’s Aphasia (Fluent Aphasia)
 Damage in and around Wernicke’s area, located near the auditory cortex, produces
Wernicke’s aphasia, characterized by poor language comprehension and impaired
ability to remember the names of objects. It is also known as fluent aphasia because
the person can still speak smoothly.
 As with Broca’s aphasia, the symptoms and brain damage vary
The typical characteristics of Wernicke’s aphasia are as follows:
1. Articulate speech. In contrast to people with Broca’s aphasia, those with Wernicke’s
aphasia speak fluently, except when pausing to try to think of the name of something.
2. Difficulty finding the right word. People with Wernicke’s aphasia have anomia,
difficulty recalling the names of objects.
3. Poor language comprehension. People with Wernicke’s aphasia have trouble
understanding spoken and written speech and—in the case of deaf people—sign
language
Music and language
language and music occur in every human culture, and no other species develops them
many parallels:
1. ability of both to evoke strong emotions
2. broca's areas is strongly activated when orchestral musicians sight-read music, as well as
when they perform difficult visuospatial tasks
*parallels suggest that music and language arose together- whatever evolutionary process
helped us develop language also enabled us to develop music

parallels:
-trained musicians and music students tend to be better than average at learning a 2nd
language
-in both language and music, we alter the timing and volume to add emphasis or express
emotion
-English speakers average .5-.7 seconds better one stressed syllable and another in speech and
prefer music with about .5-.7 seconds between beats
-Greek and Balkan languages have less regular rhythms, much of their music has irregular
spaced beats
-English usually stresses the 1st syllable of a word or phrase, French usually stresses the final
syllable; French composers more likely to make the final note longer than the others
-English vowels vary in duration more than French vowels, English composers tend to have
more variation in note length
*suggest that we use the language areas of the brain when we compose music, and we prefer
music that resembles our language in rhythms and tones
Dyslexia
specific impairment of reading in someone with adequate vision and n adequate skills in other
academic areas
-more common in boys than girls
-linked to at least 4 genes that produce deficits in hearing or cognition
-esp. burden in English readers because so many words have odd spellings
-occurs in all languages and always pertains to difficulty converting symbols into sounds

many have mild abnormalities in structure of many brain areas

-abnormalities differ between English speakers and Chinese speakers
*nature of the language determines which brain areas will be most important for reading

more likely to have bilaterally symmetrical cerebral cortex

-other people, certain areas in left are larger
show less arousal in parietal and temporal cortex while reading
-special education to increase sound awareness increases the activity of these areas

reading- complicated skill, requires seeing subtle differences, hearing subtle differences, and
connecting sound patterns to the visual symbols

main point in literature: different people have different kinds of reading problems
-most have auditory problems
-less have impaired control of eye movements
-some have both
-dysphonetic dyslexics vs. dyseidetic dyslexics
-dysphonetic dyslexics: trouble sounding out words, try to memorize each word as a whole,
when don't know- guess based on context
-dyseidetic dyslexics: fail to recognize words as a whole, read slowly, have most trouble with
irregularly spelled words- most severe cases result from brain damage that restricts field of
vision

auditory problems- brain scans show they show less than normal responses to speech sounds,
esp. consonants
-trouble detecting temporal order or sounds
-difficultly making spoonerisms: trading the first consonants of two words

problem can not be simply impaired hearing

-many deaf people can read, people with dyslexia can carry on conversation
-problem must be more specific, such as paying attention to certain aspects of sound or
connecting sounds to vision
-only impaired when looking at nonsense word on screen and having to say if it was the same
as a nonsense word they heard
problems with attention
-cues don't shift attention or couldn't shift attention fast enough

better at attending to word to the right of fixation point

treatment: teach them to attend to just one word at a time
-reading while covering other words, eventually don't need to cover them
*reading skills tied to overall attentional strategies