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Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language01:10

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Investigating the Effects of Antipsychotics and Schizotypy on the N400 Using Event-Related Potentials and Semantic Categorization
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Event-related brain potential studies in language.

Angela D Friederici1

  • 1Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, PO Box 500 355, Leipzig 04303, Germany. angelafr@cbs.mpg.de

Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports
|October 29, 2004
PubMed
Summary

This review details four event-related brain potential (ERP) components: N400 for semantics, ELAN for early syntax, P600 for late syntax, and CPS for prosody. It also discusses their neural origins using brain imaging and patient data.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Psycholinguistics
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) offer insights into language processing.
  • Several ERP components are associated with distinct linguistic functions.
  • Understanding the neural basis of these components is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review and functionally specify four key language-related ERP components.
  • To discuss the neural generators of these ERP components.
  • To integrate findings from brain imaging and lesion studies.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of event-related brain potential (ERP) studies.
  • Functional specification of N400, ELAN, P600, and CPS components.
  • Synthesis of neuroimaging (e.g., fMRI, EEG) and lesion data.

Main Results:

  • N400 component is linked to semantic processing.
  • Early Linguistic ASSociation Negative (ELAN) component reflects early syntactic processing.
  • P600 component is associated with late syntactic reanalysis.
  • Component of Prosodic Structure (CPS) reflects prosodic processing aspects.

Conclusions:

  • The reviewed ERP components (N400, ELAN, P600, CPS) map to distinct language functions.
  • Neural generators for these components are informed by converging evidence.
  • Further research integrating multiple methodologies can refine our understanding.