Related Experiment Videos
The neural system of language: structure and development
1Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3UD, UK. anna.nobre@psy.ox.ac.uk
Current Opinion in Neurobiology
|April 1, 1997
Summary
The brain
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Computational Neuroscience
Background:
- Neuroimaging and neuropsychological studies indicate a distributed neural basis for language.
- The brain's language system shares organizational principles with other cognitive functions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore how associative mechanisms in neural networks can explain language functions.
- To bridge the gap between connectionist models and symbolic language processing.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent neuroimaging and neuropsychological research.
- Application of connectionist modeling principles.
Main Results:
- The neural system for language is widely distributed across brain regions.
- Associative networks can exhibit properties previously thought to require dedicated symbolic functions.
Conclusions:
- Language processing may emerge from general associative learning mechanisms.
- Connectionist models offer a viable framework for understanding the neural basis of language.