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Language Development

Language Development

Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...

Language and Cognition

Language and Cognition

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.

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

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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Components of Language

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Language, whether spoken, signed, or written, consists of specific components: lexicon and grammar. The lexicon is the vocabulary of a language, comprising its words. Grammar is the set of rules used to convey meaning through the lexicon. For example, English grammar adds “-ed” to most verbs to indicate past tense. Words are formed by combining phonemes, which are the basic sound units of a language. Different languages have different sets of phonemes (e.g., “ah” vs.

Lateralization

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 1, 2025

Interaction between Phonological and Semantic Processes in Visual Word Recognition using Electrophysiology

Interaction between Phonological and Semantic Processes in Visual Word Recognition using Electrophysiology

Published on: June 29, 2021

Brain structure associations with phonemic and semantic fluency in typically-developing children.

Marybel Robledo Gonzalez¹, William F C Baaré², Donald J Hagler³

¹Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.

Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

|June 25, 2021

Summary

Children

Keywords:

Category fluency Diffusion tensor imaging Letter fluency MRI Surface area superior longitudinal fasciculus

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Last Updated: Nov 1, 2025

Interaction between Phonological and Semantic Processes in Visual Word Recognition using Electrophysiology

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Published on: June 29, 2021

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations

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Published on: July 1, 2015

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques

Published on: June 30, 2020

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Developmental Psychology
Cognitive Science

Background:

Verbal fluency, crucial for language development, involves rapid lexical retrieval.
Limited research exists on the link between verbal fluency and brain structure in children.
Understanding these associations is key to comprehending typical cognitive development.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the relationship between verbal fluency and brain structural variations in children.
To explore associations with frontal and temporal language regions and their white matter connections.
To compare findings with adult patterns of brain-language relationships.

Main Methods:

Examined 73 typically-developing children aged 7-13 years.
Utilized tract-based spatial statistics for fractional anisotropy (FA) in the superior longitudinal/arcuate fasciculus (SLF/AF) and underlying white matter.
Employed FreeSurfer for cortical thickness and surface area measurements.

Main Results:

Higher verbal fluency performance correlated with increased right SLF/AF FA.
Phonemic fluency showed a modest association with decreased left SLF/AF FA.
Semantic fluency linked to FA in the corpus callosum and right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus.

Conclusions:

Childhood verbal fluency may depend more on right hemisphere structures than previously thought.
These findings suggest a potential involvement of both language and executive function networks.
Further longitudinal studies are needed to elucidate developmental trajectories and influencing factors.