Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

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...

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.

Lateralization

Lateralization

Brain lateralization refers to the division of mental processes and functions between the two hemispheres of the brain, a phenomenon that optimizes neural efficiency and underpins complex abilities in humans. This specialization allows each hemisphere to perform tasks where it has a comparative advantage, facilitating more refined cognitive capabilities across different domains.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Distinct neural processes link speech planning and execution.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

From Foundations to Frontiers: Fit-for-Purpose Discourse Science.

American journal of speech-language pathology·2026

Same author

Self-Reported Inner Speech Reflects Improvement From Language Therapy.

American journal of speech-language pathology·2026

Same author

Narrative Discourse Predictors of Response to Naming Intervention in Aphasia.

Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR·2026

Same author

Characterizing Verb Argument Structure in Aphasia Using Dependency Parsers.

Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR·2026

Same author

Regional brain atrophy mediates age effects on words recognition in noise in adults.

NeuroImage·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 11, 2025

Brain Infarct Segmentation and Registration on MRI or CT for Lesion-symptom Mapping

Brain Infarct Segmentation and Registration on MRI or CT for Lesion-symptom Mapping

Published on: September 25, 2019

Grammatical Parallelism in Aphasia: A Lesion-Symptom Mapping Study.

William Matchin¹, Dirk-Bart den Ouden¹, Alexandra Basilakos¹

¹Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.

Neurobiology of Language (Cambridge, Mass.)

|November 10, 2023

Summary

This study challenges the overarching agrammatism hypothesis. Findings suggest paragrammatism, not agrammatism, is linked to syntactic comprehension deficits, implicating temporal lobe regions.

Keywords:

agrammatism aphasia lesion-symptom mapping paragrammatism syntax

More Related Videos

Translational Brain Mapping at the University of Rochester Medical Center: Preserving the Mind Through Personalized Brain Mapping

Translational Brain Mapping at the University of Rochester Medical Center: Preserving the Mind Through Personalized Brain Mapping

Published on: August 12, 2019

Utilizing Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to Improve Language Function in Stroke Patients with Chronic Non-fluent Aphasia

Utilizing Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to Improve Language Function in Stroke Patients with Chronic Non-fluent Aphasia

Published on: July 2, 2013

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 11, 2025

Brain Infarct Segmentation and Registration on MRI or CT for Lesion-symptom Mapping

Brain Infarct Segmentation and Registration on MRI or CT for Lesion-symptom Mapping

Published on: September 25, 2019

Translational Brain Mapping at the University of Rochester Medical Center: Preserving the Mind Through Personalized Brain Mapping

Translational Brain Mapping at the University of Rochester Medical Center: Preserving the Mind Through Personalized Brain Mapping

Published on: August 12, 2019

Utilizing Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to Improve Language Function in Stroke Patients with Chronic Non-fluent Aphasia

Utilizing Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to Improve Language Function in Stroke Patients with Chronic Non-fluent Aphasia

Published on: July 2, 2013

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Linguistics
Neurology

Background:

The overarching agrammatism hypothesis links syntactic production and comprehension deficits to Broca's area damage.
Evidence for this hypothesis is equivocal, and the role of paragrammatism in syntactic comprehension remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the relationship between grammatical production deficits (agrammatism and paragrammatism) and syntactic comprehension.
To determine the neural correlates of these deficits using lesion-symptom mapping.

Main Methods:

Lesion-symptom mapping was performed on three overlapping groups of left-hemisphere stroke patients (N=53 for production, N=130-218 for comprehension).
Analyses examined associations between agrammatic and paragrammatic production deficits and syntactic comprehension abilities, controlling for lesion volume.

Main Results:

Paragrammatic production deficits significantly correlated with impaired syntactic comprehension, particularly when lesion volume was a covariate.
Agrammatic production deficits showed no significant association with syntactic comprehension deficits.
Impaired syntactic comprehension and paragrammatism were associated with temporal lobe damage, not frontal regions implicated in expressive agrammatism.

Conclusions:

Results strongly refute the overarching agrammatism hypothesis.
Findings support an alternative grammatical parallelism hypothesis, suggesting a central syntactic system in the posterior temporal lobe underlies both paragrammatism and syntactic comprehension.