Language in the Brain

✍ Scribed by Helmut Schnelle

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 246
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Linguistics, neurocognition, and phenomenological psychology are fundamentally different fields of research. Helmut Schnelle provides an interdisciplinary understanding of a new integrated field in which linguists can be competent in neurocognition and neuroscientists in structure linguistics. Consequently the first part of the book is a systematic introduction to the function of the form and meaning-organising brain component - with the essential core elements being perceptions, actions, attention, emotion and feeling. Their descriptions provide foundations for experiences based on semantics and pragmatics. The second part is addressed to non-linguists and presents the structural foundations of currently established linguistic frameworks. This book should be serious reading for anyone interested in a comprehensive understanding of language, in which evolution, functional organisation and hierarchies are explained by reference to brain architecture and dynamics.

✦ Table of Contents

Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Dedication......Page 7
Contents......Page 9
Preface......Page 11
Acknowledgements......Page 19
PART I Functional neuroscience of language organization in the brain......Page 21
1.1 The functional triangle of language, mind and brain......Page 23
1.2 Introduction to the brain: the cortical network elements......Page 28
1.3 Cognits and the principles of cognitive network organization......Page 32
1.4 Mutual functionality: relating abstract linguistic structure, mind’s phenomenology and functional brain organization......Page 36
1.5 Introduction to the nervous system and its functions......Page 38
1.6 Principles determining the development of the nervous system......Page 42
1.7 Models for language in the brain......Page 48
2.1 Some philosophers’ pan-organic outlook: instead of an introduction......Page 52
2.2 The neuroscientist’s basic reflections......Page 59
2.3 Fuster’s perception–action cycle: a basic format for studying brain architecture......Page 62
2.4 LF-cognits and M-cognits in the perception–action framework......Page 65
2.5 Perception–action cycle as a base of memory......Page 68
2.7 Pre-frontal attention access to the perception–action memory......Page 71
2.8 The ontogenetic formation of cognit memory......Page 73
3.1 Stages of complexity development in the perception–action system......Page 75
3.2 Development of perception–action cycles......Page 77
3.3 Mirror systems and the understanding of a perception–action concept in primates......Page 79
3.4 Measurements of stages in children’s language acquisition......Page 83
3.5 Visual and auditory parts and wholes in the brain’s space and time......Page 85
3.5.1 Saccadic eye movements and possible counterparts in hearing and articulation.......Page 86
3.5.3 Brief explanation of functions that the brain organizes in connection with saccadic eye movements......Page 88
3.5.4 Cortical and sub-cortical brain components and their cooperation in spontaneous vision processes......Page 92
3.5.5 Eye-movements in acts of reading......Page 95
3.5.6 Verbal rehearsal......Page 96
4.1 The phenomenon of creativity and advanced forms of experience......Page 99
4.2 Steps towards creativity of visual thinking......Page 100
4.3 Creativity in the perspective of scientists......Page 103
4.4 Some special aspects of the pre-frontal cortex......Page 105
4.5 A linguist’s critical discussion: an interlude......Page 107
4.6 Introduction to the integrated mind/brain/body organization......Page 109
4.7 Damasio’s development of a radically new approach......Page 111
4.8 Is the notion of self a feature of the first person pronoun?......Page 117
4.9 Cognitive- and body-based neural systems and their roles in infants’ learning phases......Page 118
4.10 Background self, feeling and constitution......Page 122
4.11 The systematic organization of the three components of the nervous system......Page 126
PART II Introducing linguistics to neuroscientists......Page 131
5.1 Our dynamic perspective......Page 133
5.2 Chomsky’s traditional base......Page 136
5.3 Chomsky’s formalist syntax base and its critics......Page 140
5.4 Jackendoff’s three stages of organization......Page 142
5.5 The world of thinking and knowing, loving or hating, happy or sad mind/brain/bodies......Page 147
5.6 Frege’s proposals for sentence analyses......Page 148
6.1 Explaining grammar as meaningful......Page 152
6.2 Langacker’s view of the foundations of grammar......Page 154
6.3 Mental and communicative efficiency......Page 155
6.4 Flexibility of grammatical framing in constructions and construals of form and meaning......Page 161
6.5 Objectivity and subjectivity in common forms of situation accounts......Page 164
6.6 Subjective and objective time......Page 168
6.7 The mental universe as a collection of archetype frames......Page 170
7.1 The integrated mind/brain/body: a new version of pushing “the world” into the mind/brain/body of a person......Page 174
7.2 Criticizing verb-centred meaning structures......Page 176
7.3 The stars in the world of geometry, Beethoven and Schubert in the world of music......Page 178
7.4 The fourth stage of pushing the world into the mind/brain/body......Page 183
7.5 An important archetype: togetherness and each-otherness......Page 189
7.6 Social groups, institutions and each-other relations......Page 191
7.7 Each-other words as linguistic entrance to the lexical semantics of altruism......Page 194
7.8 The positive each-other perspective as a transcendental ideal......Page 199
8.1 The gap between formalist structure definition and neural dynamic......Page 201
8.2.1 Stern’s mindscape and Searle’s background......Page 203
8.2.2 Lakoff’s prototypes in flexible language use......Page 204
8.2.3 The Prague School’s communicative discourse dynamic......Page 206
8.3.1 Jackendoff’s problems......Page 209
8.3.2 The genome problem and the development of the perception–action cortex......Page 213
8.4 Instantiating grammars in the nervous system......Page 215
8.5 Translating trees, rules and rule complexes into neuronal modules......Page 219
8.6 Meeting the challenges of bridging the gap......Page 220
8.7 Organizing binding and tokens in neurocognitive constituent structure networks......Page 223
8.8 The power of the nodes in widely distributed types of connection areas......Page 228
8.9 This–There versus Now and Then; combined with some concluding remarks......Page 230
References......Page 233
Author index......Page 239
Subject index......Page 241