SU M M A R Y

PS Y C H O L L I N G U I S T I C S

Na m e : Zi a Pu t r i N u r j a n n a h

NI M : 12 2 1 7 0 1 2

Cl a s s : 3B

Su b j e c t : In t r o d u c t io n to Ps y c h o l i n g u i s t i c s

W h a t is Ps y c h o l i n g u i s t i c s ?

Ps y c h o li n g u is t ic s is the stu d y of the int e r r e l a t i o n be t w e e n lin g u i s t i c fac t o r s an d

ps y c h o l o g i c a l as p e c t s . It is a s ci e n t i f i c stu d y of me n ta l pro c e s s e s an d ele m e n t s

em p l o y e d in la n g u a g e , an d it is co n c e r n e d wit h the us e of ps y c h o l o g i c a l , s c i e n t i f i c , a n d

ex p e r i m e n t a l m e t h o d s to stu d y lan g u a g e ac q u i s i t i o n , pr o d u c t i o n , an d pr o c e s s i n g .

Ps y c h o li n g u is t ic s is a bl e n d i n g of ps y c h o l o g y an d lin g u i s t i c s , an d it re c o g n i z e s
th a t lan g u a g e is bo t h a ph y s i c a l an d co g n i t i v e en d e a v o r . Th e ma in fo c u s of

ps y c h o l i n g u i s t i c s is the sea r c h for kn o w l e d g e an d un d e r s t a n d i n g of ho w hu m a n s

ac q u i r e , ge n e r a t e , an d re c e i v e lan g u a g e . P s y c h o l i n g u i s t i c s in c l u d e s th e s tu d y of s p e e c h

pe r c e p t i o n , the ro l e of m e m o r y , co n c e p t s , an d ot h e r pro c e s s e s in la n g u a g e us e , an d ho w

so c ia l an d ps y c h o l o g i c a l fac t o r s aff e c t th e us e of lan g u a g e . Ps y c h o li n g u is t ic s ca n be

di v i d e d in t o fo u r ma i n are a s : la n g u a g e co m p r e h e n s i o n , lan g u a g e pr o d u c t i o n , lan g u a g e

ac q u i s i t i o n , an d lan g u a g e dis o r d e r s .

Ps y c h o li n g u is t ic s is the stu d y of the int e r r e l a t i o n be t w e e n lin g u i s t i c fac t o r s an d

ps y c h o l o g i c a l as p e c t s . It is a s ci e n t i f i c stu d y of me n ta l pro c e s s e s an d ele m e n t s

em p l o y e d in la n g u a g e , an d it is co n c e r n e d wit h the us e of ps y c h o l o g i c a l , s c i e n t i f i c , a n d

ex p e r i m e n t a l m e t h o d s to stu d y lan g u a g e ac q u i s i t i o n , pr o d u c t i o n , an d pr o c e s s i n g .

Ps y c h o li n g u is t ic s is a bl e n d i n g of ps y c h o l o g y an d lin g u i s t i c s , an d it re c o g n i z e s

th a t lan g u a g e is bo t h a ph y s i c a l an d co g n i t i v e en d e a v o r . Th e ma in fo c u s of

ps y c h o l i n g u i s t i c s is the sea r c h for kn o w l e d g e an d un d e r s t a n d i n g of ho w hu m a n s

ac q u i r e , ge n e r a t e , an d re c e i v e la n g u a g e .

Ps y c h o li n g u is t ic s in c l u d e s th e stu d y of s p e e c h pe r c e p t i o n , th e ro l e of m e m o r y ,
co n c e p t s , an d oth e r pro c e s s e s in lan g u a g e us e , an d ho w s o c i a l an d ps y c h o l o g i c a l fac t o r s

af f e c t th e us e of lan g u a g e . Ps y c h o l i n g u is ti c s ca n be di v i d e d int o fou r ma i n ar e a s :

lan g u a g e co m p r e h e n s i o n , la n g u a g e pr o d u c t i o n , lan g u a g e ac q u i s i t i o n , an d lan g u a g e

di s o r d e r s .

What is N e u r o l i n g u i s t i c s ?

• Th e stu d y of the re l a t i o n s h i p be t w e e n la n g u a g e an d th e bra i n is ca l l e d

ne u r o l i n g u i s t i c s .
 • Al t h o u g h thi s is a re l a t i v e l y rec e n t ter m , th e fie l d of s tu d y da t e s ba c k to th e

ni n e t e e n t h ce n t u r y .

• Es t a b l i s h i n g th e lo c a t i o n of la n g u a g e in the bra i n wa s an ea r l y ch a l l e n g e , bu t
on e ev e n t in c i d e n t a l l y pro v i d e d a cl u e .

Pa r t s of th e Br a i n

• A nu m b e r of di s c o v e r i e s ha v e be e n ma d e ab o u t the s pe c i f i c pa r t s in th e br a i n

th a t ar e re l a t e d to la n g u a g e fu n c t i o n s .

• O u r br a i n ba s i c a l l y ha s tw o pa r t s , the lef t he m i s p h e r e an d th e rig h t he m i s p h e r e .

• Ex p e r i m e n t s ha v e in d i c a t e d th e ge n e r a l lo c a t i o n s of tho s e la n g u a g e fun c t i o n s

in v o l v e d in s pe a k i n g an d lis t e n i n g .

• W e kn o w la r g e l y thr o u g h the ex a m i n a t i o n , in au t o p s i e s , of the br a i n s of pe o p l e

w h o , in lif e , w e r e kn o w n to ha v e sp e c if ic la n g u a g e di s a b i l i t i e s .

• Th a t is , w e try to de t e r m i n e w h e r e la n g u a g e ab i l i t i e s for no r m a l us e r s mu s t be ,

by fin d i n g are a s wi th sp e c i f i c da m a g e in th e bra i n s of pe o p l e wh o ha d

id e n t i f i a b l e lan g u a g e di s a b i l i t i e s .

Br o c a ’ s Ar e a

• Th e pa r t of br a i n kn o w n as 'an t e r i o r s p e e c h co r t e x or, mo r e us u a l l y , as Br o c a ' s

ar e a . P a u l Br o c a , a F r e n c h s u r g e o n , rep o r t e d in th e 18 6 0 s th a t da m a g e to t h i s

s p e c i f i c pa r t of th e br a i n w a s re l a t e d to ex t r e m e di f f i c u l t y in pr o d u c i n g s pe e c h .

• It w a s no t e d tha t da m a g e to th e co r r e s p o n d i n g ar e a on th e rig h t he m i s p h e r e
ha d no s u c h ef f e c t .

• Th i s fin d i n g wa s fir s t us e d to ar g u e th a t lan g u a g e ab i l i t y mu s t be lo c a t e d in

th e le f t he m i s p h e r e an d s in c e th e n ha s be e n tre a t e d as an in d i c a t i o n th a t Br o c a ' s

ar e a is cru c i a l l y inv o l v e d in th e pr o d u c t i o n of s p e e c h .

W e r n ic k e ' s Ar e a

• Th e pa r t of bra i n kn o w n as 'po s t e r i o r s p e e c h co r t e x , or W e r n i c k e 's are a . Ca r l

W e rn i c k e wa s a Ge r m a n do c t o r wh o , in the 18 7 0 s , re p o r t e d tha t da m a g e to

th i s pa r t of th e bra i n wa s fo u n d am o n g pa t i e n t s wh o ha d sp e e c h

co m p r e h e n s i o n di f f i c u l t i e s .
 • Th i s fin d i n g co n f i r m e d the le f t he m i s p h e r e lo c a t i o n of la n g u a g e ab i l i t y an d led

to the vie w tha t W e r n i c k e 's are a is pa r t of the br a i n cr u c i a l l y in v o l v e d in the

un d e r s t a n d i n g of s p e e c h .

Th e Mo to r Co r t e x

• Th e pa r t kn o w n as th e m o to r co r t e x , is an ar e a th a t ge n e r a l l y co n t r o l s

m o v e m e n t of th e mu s c le s (fo r mo v i n g ha n d s , fee t , arm s , et c . ) .

• Cl o s e to Br o c a 's are a is th e pa r t of the mo to r co r t e x th a t co n t r o l s the

ar t i c u l a t o r y mu s c l e s of th e fac e , jaw , ton g u e an d lar y n x .

• Ev i d e n c e tha t thi s ar e a is in v o l v e d in th e ph y s i c a l ar t i c u l a t i o n of s p e e c h c o m e s

fro m wo r k re p o r t e d in th e 19 5 0 s by tw o ne u r o s u r g e o n s , P e n f i e l d an d Ro b e r t s

(1 9 5 9 ) .

• Th e pa r t wh i c h is a bu n d l e of ne r v e fib e r s ca l l e d the ar c u a t e fas c i c u l u s . Th i s

wa s als o on e of W e rn i c k e 's di s c o v e r i e s an d is no w kn o w n to fo r m a cru c i a l

co n n e c t i o n be t w e e n W e r n i c k e ' s an d Br o c a ' s ar e a .

Ap h a s i a

• Pe o p l e wh o su f f e r fro m di f f e r e n t ty p e s of la n g u a g e dis o r d e r s , ge n e r a l l y

de s c r i b e d as "a p h a s i a ' . It is de f i n e d as an im p a i r m e n t of la n g u a g e fu n c t i o n du e

to lo c a l i z e d bra i n da m a g e tha t lea d s to di f f i c u l t y in un d e r s t a n d i n g an d / o r

pr o d u c i n g lin g u i s t i c fo r m s .

• Th e mo s t co m m o n ca u s e of ap h a s i a is a str o k e (w h e n a bl o o d ve s s e l in the

br a i n is blo c k e d or bu r s t s ) , th o u g h tra u m a t i c he a d in j u r i e s fro m vi o l e n c e or an

ac c i d e n t ma y ha v e sim i l a r eff e c t s . Th o s e ef f e c t s ca n ra n g e fro m m i l d to s e v e r e

re d u c t i o n in th e ab i l i t y to us e lan g u a g e .

Ho w ou r br a i n s wo r k ?

O u r br a i n s sto r e in f o r m a t i o n in ne t w o r k s of bra i n ce l l s (n e u r o n s an d gli a l ce l l s ) .

Th e s e ne u r a l ne t w o r k s ar e ult i m a t e l y co n n e c t e d to the pa r t s of th e bra i n tha t co n t r o l

ou r mo v e m e n t s (in c l u d i n g tho s e ne e d e d to pr o d u c e sp e e c h ) an d ou r in t e r n a l an d

ex t e r n a l sen s a ti o n s (s o u n d s , sig h t s , tou c h , an d th o s e th a t co m e fro m ou r ow n

m o v e m e n t s ) . Th e co n n e c t i o n s wi th i n th e s e ne t w o r k s ma y be s tr o n g or w e a k , an d the

in f o r m a t i o n tha t a ce l l sen d s ou t ma y in c r e a s e th e ac t i v i t y of s o m e of its ne i g h b o r s

an d in h i b i t th e ac t i v i t y of ot h e r s . Ea c h tim e a co n n e c t i o n is us e d , it ge t s s tr o n g e r .

De n s e l y co n n e c t e d ne i g h b o r h o o d s of br a i n ce l l s ca r r y ou t co m p u t a t i o n s th a t are
in t e g r a t e d wit h inf o r m a t i o n co m i n g fro m oth e r ne i g h b o r h o o d s , of t e n in v o l v i n g

fe e d b a c k loo p s . Ma n y co m p u t a t i o n s ar e ca r r i e d ou t sim u l t a n e o u s l y (th e br a i n is a

massiv ely pa r a l l e l inf o r m a t i o n pr o c e s s o r ) .

 Where is la n g u a g e in th e br a i n ?

Th i s qu e s t i o n is ha r d to an s w e r , be c a u s e br a i n ac t i v i t y is lik e the ac t i v i t y of a

hu g e ci t y . A cit y is or g a n i z e d s o th a t pe o p l e wh o liv e in it ca n ge t w h a t th e y ne e d to

liv e on , bu t yo u ca n 't s a y tha t a co m p l e x ac t i v i t y , lik e ma n u f a c t u r i n g a pro d u c t , is 'i n '

on e pl a c e . Ra w ma te r ia l s ha v e to ar r i v e at the rig h t tim e s , s u b c o n t r a c t o r s are ne e d e d ,

th e pro d u c t mu s t be sh ip p e d ou t in va r i o u s dir e c t i o n s . It' s the sam e wi th ou r br a i n s .

We ca n 't s ay th a t la n g u a g e is 'in ' a pa r t i c u l a r pa r t of th e bra i n . It' s no t ev e n tru e th a t a

pa r t i c u l a r w o r d is 'in ' on e pl a c e in a pe r s o n ' s br a i n ; the in f o r m a t i o n tha t co m e s to g e t h e r

wh e n we un d e r s t a n d or s a y a wo r d arr i v e s fro m ma n y pl a c e s , de p e n d i n g on wh a t the

wo r d me a n s . Fo r ex a m p l e , wh e n we un d e r s t a n d or s ay a wo r d lik e ‘ap p l e ’ , we are

lik e l y to us e in f o r m a t i o n ab o u t wh a t ap p l e s loo k , fe e l , sm e l l, an d tas t e lik e , ev e n

th o u g h w e ar e n ’ t aw a r e of do i n g thi s . S o lis t e n i n g , un d e r s t a n d i n g , ta l k i n g , an d re a d i n g

in v o l v e ac t i v i t i e s in ma n y pa r t s of th e bra i n . Ho w e v e r , so m e pa r t s of th e bra i n are

m o re in v o l v e d in lan g u a g e tha n ot h e r pa r t s .

Most of th e pa r t s of yo u r br a i n tha t ar e cr u c i a l fo r bo t h s po k e n an d wr i t t e n

lan g u a g e ar e in the lef t s id e of the co r t e x of yo u r br a i n (th e lef t he m i s p h e r e ) , reg a r d l e s s

of wh a t la n g u a g e yo u rea d an d ho w it is wr i tt e n . We kn o w th i s be c a u s e ap h a s i a is

alm o s t alw a y s ca u s e d by le f t he m i s p h e r e in j u r y , no t by rig h t he m i s p h e r e inj u r y , no

matter w h a t lan g u a g e yo u sp e a k or re a d , or w h e t h e r yo u ca n re a d at all . (T h i s is tr u e

fo r ab o u t 95 % of rig h t - h a n d e d pe o p l e an d ab o u t ha l f of lef t - h a n d e d pe o p l e . ) A l a r g e

pa r t of the br a i n (th e 'w h i t e m a t t e r ') co n s i s t s of fib e r s th a t co n n e c t dif f e r e n t ar e a s to

on e an o t h e r , be c a u s e us i n g lan g u a g e (an d th i n k i n g ) req u i r e s th e rap i d int e g r a t i o n of

in f o r m a t i o n th a t is sto r e d an d / o r pro c e s s e d in m a n y di f f e r e n t br a i n re g i o n s .

Ar e a s in the rig h t sid e are es s e n t i a l fo r co m m u n i c a t i n g eff e c t i v e l y an d for

un d e r s t a n d i n g the po i n t of w h a t pe o p l e ar e s a y i n g . If yo u ar e bil i n g u a l bu t di d n ’ t l e a r n

bo t h la n g u a g e s fro m bi r t h , yo u r rig h t he m i s p h e r e ma y be s o m e w h a t m o r e inv o l v e d in

yo u r s ec o n d lan g u a g e tha n it is in yo u r fir s t la n g u a g e . O u r br a i n s are s om e w h a t pla s t i c

– tha t is , th e i r org a n i z a t i o n de p e n d s on ou r ex p e r i e n c e s as we l l as on ou r ge n e t i c

en d o w m e n t . Fo r ex a m p l e , ma n y of the ‘au d i t o r y ’ ar e a s of th e br a i n , wh ic h are

in v o l v e d w i t h un d e r s t a n d i n g s p o k e n la n g u a g e in pe o p l e wi th no r m a l he a r i n g , are us e d
in (v i s u a l l y ) un d e r s t a n d i n g sig n e d la n g u a g e by pe o p l e wh o are de a f fro m bi r t h or w h o

be c a m e de a f ea r l y (a n d do no t ha v e co c h l e a r im p l a n t s ) . An d bli n d pe o p l e us e the

‘v i s u a l ’ are a s of th e i r br a i n s in pro c e s s i n g wo r d s wr i tt e n in Br a i l l e , ev e n th o u g h

Br a i l l e is rea d by to u c h .

Ho w ne u r o l in g u i s t i c re s e a r c h ha s ch a n g e d ?

Fo r ov e r a hu n d r e d ye a r s , res e a r c h in ne u r o l i n g u i s t i c s wa s al m o s t co m p l e t e l y

de p e n d e n t on the s tu d y of lan g u a g e co m p r e h e n s i o n an d pr o d u c t i o n by pe o p l e wit h

ap h a s i a . Th e s e s tu d i e s of th e i r la n g u a g e ab i l i t y we r e au g m e n t e d by rel a t i v e l y cru d e

in f o r m a t i o n ab o u t wh e r e the in j u r y wa s loc a t e d in the br a i n . Ne u r o lo g i s ts ha d to

de d u c e tha t inf o r m a t i o n , s u c h as it w a s , by co n s i d e r i n g w h a t oth e r ab i l i t i e s we r e lo s t ,

an d by au t o p s y inf o r m a t i o n , w h i c h wa s no t of t e n av a i l a b l e . A fe w pa t i e n t s wh o we r e
ab o u t to un d e r g o su r g e r y to re l i e v e sev e r e ep i l e p s y or tu m o r s co u l d be stu d i e d by

di r e c t br a i n s ti m u l a t i o n , w h e n it w a s m e d i c a l l y ne e d e d to gu i d e the s u r g e o n aw a y fr o m

ar e a s es s e n t i a l fo r th e pa t i e n t ’ s us e of lan g u a g e .

RE F E R E N C E S

Ps y c h o l i n g u i s t i c s " : "L a n g u a g e & Br a i n (N e u r o l i n g u i s t i c s ) " | PD F .. .

ht t p s : / /w w w . s c r ib d . c o m / p r e s e n t a t io n / 4 7 6 9 8 6 8 4 7 /L e c t u r e - 2 0 2 0 - 0 9 - 2 0 T 2 3 4 9 2 6 -

22 3

Li n g u i s t i c So c ie t y of A m e r i c a

Ad v a n c in g th e Sc ie n t i f i c S tu d y of La n g u a g e sin c e 19 2 4

ht t p s : / /w w w . l i n g u is t ic s o c ie t y . o r g /r e s o u r c e /n e u r o l in g u i s t i c s