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Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
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Neurocomputational Consequences of Evolutionary Connectivity Changes in Perisylvian Language Cortex.

Malte R Schomers1,2, Max Garagnani3,4,5, Friedemann Pulvermüller3,2

  • 1Brain Language Laboratory, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany, malte2011@cantab.net.

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience
|February 15, 2017
PubMed
Summary

Human brain evolution shows enhanced connectivity in language areas, specifically the arcuate fasciculus (AF), leading to verbal working memory crucial for language abilities.

Keywords:
action–perception cyclearcuate fasciculuscortical connectivityneurocomputational modelingperisylvian cortexverbal working memory

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Computational Modeling

Background:

  • Human language abilities are distinct from primates, with the arcuate fasciculus (AF) connectivity in language areas being a key neuroanatomical difference.
  • While AF connectivity correlates with verbal working memory, the mechanistic link to language remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the mechanistic link between human-specific AF connectivity and the emergence of verbal working memory.
  • To explore the evolutionary advantage of enhanced connectivity in human language networks.

Main Methods:

  • Neurocomputational simulations using anatomically structured models of the primate and human perisylvian language cortex.
  • Comparison of network models with varying connectivity patterns, focusing on "jumping links" between cortical areas.

Main Results:

  • Human-like connectivity, characterized by stronger "jumping links" and shorter sensorimotor paths, enabled the emergence of working memory for syllables and word forms.
  • Increased learning time alone was insufficient; specific structural features of the AF were crucial for developing verbal working memory.

Conclusions:

  • The human-specific structural organization of the arcuate fasciculus (AF) is critical for the development of verbal working memory.
  • This enhanced connectivity provides a functional advantage, explaining the evolutionary selection of human language capabilities.