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Related Concept Videos

Language and Cognition01:27

Language and Cognition

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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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Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language01:10

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

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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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Language is a unique communication system that uses words and systematic rules to organize and transmit information. Unlike other forms of communication, which may involve postures, movements, odors, or vocalizations, language relies on symbols and grammar. This makes human communication distinct from that of other species, who also communicate but do not use language in the same way humans do.
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Language Development01:22

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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.
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Lateralization01:28

Lateralization

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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.
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Cerebral Hemispheres01:05

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The human brain, a complex organ, is functionally divided into two cerebral hemispheres—left and right. These hemispheres are interconnected by a structure of paramount importance, the corpus callosum. This substantial bundle of neural fibers is not just a bridge between the hemispheres but a crucial element for the brain's comprehensive functioning. It enables efficient communication between the two hemispheres, allowing each side of the brain to control and receive sensory and motor...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 21, 2025

Examining Online Syntactic Processing of Spoken Complex Sentences in Chinese Using Dual-Modal Interference Tasks
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Constructed languages are processed by the same brain mechanisms as natural languages.

Saima Malik-Moraleda1,2,3, Maya Taliaferro1,2, Steve Shannon2

  • 1Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|March 17, 2025
PubMed
Summary

Constructed languages (conlangs) activate the same brain regions as natural languages, suggesting shared neural mechanisms for language processing. This indicates that conlangs, despite their differences, rely on the same cognitive and neural foundations as human languages.

Keywords:
constructed languageslanguage evolutionneurobiology of language

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Linguistics
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Natural language processing involves specialized brain mechanisms.
  • The neural basis of constructed languages (conlangs) remains underexplored.
  • Conlangs may recruit language-specific or general cognitive networks.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether conlangs engage the same neural mechanisms as natural languages.
  • To determine if conlangs pattern with mathematical or programming languages instead.
  • To identify shared features critical for neural processing of conlangs and natural languages.

Main Methods:

  • Individual-subject functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) analyses were employed.
  • Participants comprehended constructed languages including Esperanto, Klingon, Na'vi, High Valyrian, and Dothraki.
  • Brain activity was compared between conlang comprehension and nonlinguistic tasks.

Main Results:

  • Understanding conlangs consistently recruited the same brain areas as natural language comprehension.
  • This neural overlap was observed across various conlangs, including Esperanto and fictional languages.
  • Specific conlang characteristics (e.g., recent creation, small speaker base) did not alter neural recruitment patterns.

Conclusions:

  • Conlangs and natural languages share critical features enabling the use of similar cognitive and neural mechanisms.
  • The left-lateralized language network supports both natural and constructed language processing.
  • Symbolic systems capable of expressing diverse meanings form the basis for shared neural processing.